Mamdani hits back at Netanyahu after UN speech, says PM trying to ‘sanitize his genocide’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hit back at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday after the Israeli leader claimed that Jews haven’t felt safe in New York since he was elected, and accused him of being friendly with Hamas. Mamdani, a staunch opponent of Israel who has been in office since January 2026, responded to Netanyahu’s speech by accusing the Israeli premier of leading a genocide against the Palestinian people, a charge that he has made previously and that Israel rejects. “As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians,” Mamdani said in his statement, according to local media reports. “Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Mamdani’s statement was issued in response to Netanyahu’s address at the UN General Assembly, a portion of which was dedicated to the New York City mayor. Netanyahu, in his speech, accused Mamdani of antisemitism and said that Jews “no longer feel safe in New York” thanks to him. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms “You falsely and repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide. Mr. Madani, you tried to stop me from coming here, you tried to silence me. You can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth,” Netanyahu had continued. “Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide. And that’s exactly what Mr. Mamdani’s Hamas buddies would have done to us had we not stopped them. They would have killed every last one of us,” Netanyahu asserted. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, September 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) Mamdani did not publish his response to Netanyahu on social media, instead sharing a video of an olive tree planting ceremony held at his mayoral residence on Wednesday night with Palestinian families from Gaza. Advertisement “Last night I planted an olive tree at Gracie Mansion with Palestinian families from Gaza. May peace be in our future,” the caption accompanying the video read. Last night I planted an olive tree at Gracie Mansion with Palestinian families from Gaza. May peace be our future. pic.twitter.com/3snGtcAA0J — Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) September 24, 2026 Netanyahu’s speech also angered Qatar, after he dedicated a portion of it to the Gulf nation — which he said was part of an “eighth front” in Israel’s war, the war for truth — accusing it of spreading lies about Israel and funding US universities in order to “brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America, and hate the West.” “This is the same Qatar that hosts the Hamas butchers of October 7,” Netanyahu said, referring to the terror group’s political leadership, most of whom are based out of Doha. Advertisement Doha was a key mediator in hostage talks with Hamas, and top Netanyahu aides are under investigation in the so-called Qatargate scandal for allegedly taking money from Qatar to spread sympathetic messages in Israeli media A senior Qatari diplomat retaliated after Netanyahu’s speech that “speaking to a half-empty room during his UN remarks says plenty about the support for this message.” Dozens of envoys from across the world walked out, some jeering and booing, as Netanyahu delivered his speech. “Blaming Qatar for a political failures [sic] does not change the facts,” the Qatari deputy ambassador to the US, Hamas al-Muftah, wrote on X. “Qatar’s reported funding of American universities has overwhelmingly supported the operation of US university campuses in Education City (in Doha), bringing American higher education to the Middle East. Those universities maintain academic responsibility for their programs; Qatar does not dictate what happens on their US campuses,” he said. Addressing Hamas’s presence in Qatar, the diplomat said Netanyahu knows “exactly why Hamas representatives have been based in Doha.” “Qatar has served as a communications channel and mediator in negotiations involving Israel, Hamas, the United States and Egypt. US officials have repeatedly described Qatar’s mediation role as critical or indispensable.” “At a moment of profound regional and domestic political turmoil, attacking one of the countries doing the difficult work of mediation does nothing to solve the problem,” al-Muftah added. Advertisement The Qatari deputy envoy attached to his tweet a photo of Netanyahu sitting in the Oval Office alongside US President Donald Trump, reading out an apology written out for him to the prime minister of Qatar over a failed Israeli strike last year targeting Hamas’s leaders in Doha. @IsraeliPM speaking to half-empty room during his UN remarks says plenty about the support for this message. Blaming Qatar for a political failures does not change the facts. Qatar’s reported funding of American universities has overwhelmingly supported the operation of U.S.… pic.twitter.com/r8MXgZE7QC — Hamad AlMuftah (@hmmm1983) September 24, 2026 Speech met with mixed response back home Netanyahu’s remarks also prompted responses from closer to home, as Israeli politicians reacted, some in anger and some in support, to the premier’s address on the world stage. Former prime minister and chair of B’Yachad Naftali Bennett lamented in a post on X that Netanyahu failed to formally declare Qatar an enemy of the state in his speech, and doubled down on his pledge to do it himself if he wins the October 27 election. “Netanyahu missed that opportunity, and in doing so, he whitewashed and legitimized Qatar,” Bennett fumed. “Every moment that Netanyahu refuses to call the Qatari enemy by its name harms our national security, damages Israel’s standing in the world, and dishonors the memory of those murdered in the [October 7] massacre.” Meanwhile, the chair of the left-wing Democrats party, Yair Golan, quipped that Netanyahu had failed to get his remarks on Qatar “cleared with Jonatan Urich,” a key suspect in the Qatargate affair. Members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition applauded his address, however, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar congratulating him for “a brilliant speech” which “presented our truth — Israel’s truth — in the UN house of lies.” Advertisement National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir echoed his sentiments, declaring that “the entire State of Israel stands with you in the face of the world’s lies.” Help us report truthfully on social media As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos. This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world. 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Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 Son of Israel’s US envoy, a soldier, seriously hurt in car-ramming attack in West Bank; assailant shot dead 2 Netanyahu lands in New York to address UN General Assembly, won’t meet Trump 3 Election panel disqualifies all Arab parties, in move likely to be overturned; Balad leader also barred 4 IDF's probes into Oct. 7 Fall of border post enabled Hamas invasion of Be’eri on Oct. 7, IDF probe finds 5 In fiery UN speech, Netanyahu blasts Iran, Qatar, Turkey, slams Gaza genocide accusation 6 Ambassador Leiter says he’s ‘full of hope’ for son seriously wounded in West Bank ramming attack 7 China sent Iran 1,300 shipments of drone, missile components this year – report 8 Jewish teacher in Philadelphia admits to fabricating Palestinian identity for years read more: Israel & the Region Benjamin Netanyahu UN General Assembly Zohran Mamdani Qatar Hamas-Qatar relations United Nations If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. 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