Khanna echoes Mamdani’s call to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu
ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California, has called for President Donald Trump to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, based on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, aligning with progressive voices criticizing Netanyahu. Khanna also suggested that Trump should arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite neither the U.S. nor Israel being members of the ICC, Khanna emphasized the importance of adherence to international law and cooperation with the ICC.
His stance has drawn criticism from some American officials, including NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who acknowledged the legal and diplomatic immunity typically afforded to visiting heads of state under international law. Trump has opposed calls to arrest Netanyahu, partly due to his administration’s opposition to the ICC. Additionally, the ICC’s top prosecutor involved in issuing the warrant was removed amid allegations of misconduct.
The debate highlights tensions over international law, diplomatic immunity, and the politicization of legal actions against foreign leaders. Mamdani defended his critiques of netanyahu,stressing thay are political and not based on religious or personal animus,and emphasized the need to ensure the safety and unity of New Yorkers.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Friday called for President Donald Trump to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, echoing progressive calls against the Jewish leader.
The California Democrat cited the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant as the basis for Netanyahu’s detention, and called on Trump to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin as well. Netanyahu is expected to come to the U.S. in September for the United Nations’ annual meeting in New York City.
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“The American president should arrest Netanyahu or Putin in accordance with international law,” Khanna told MeidasTouch reporter Pablo Manriquez on Capitol Hill. “Full stop. America needs to cooperate with the ICC.”
“It’s a matter of human rights, and it’s a matter of a rules-based international order, and he should order the marshals to arrest someone if they come to our jurisdiction,” he added.
Neither the U.S. nor Israel are part of the ICC, meaning it holds no jurisdiction over those countries.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city’s first socialist leader, earlier this month said he wanted to arrest Netanyahu, after making the demand during his campaign last October, but later conceded he lacks the authority to do so. Any government official coming to the UN is protected by absolute head-of-state diplomatic immunity, according to the organization. Federal law dictates foreign policy and diplomatic relations, protecting heads of state from being arrested by local officials such as Mamdani.
Trump has slammed calls to arrest Netanyahu, in part because of his administration’s deep distaste for the ICC. The top ICC prosecutor instrumental in delivering the arrest warrant against the Israeli leader was forced to step aside in 2025 after being accused of repeatedly raping a staffer. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan was formally removed from his post on Friday.
The Trump administration has also raised concerns that leading critics of Netanyahu, including Mamdani, are antisemitic, after the mayor declined to disavow the phrase “globalize the intifada” and supported the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement, or BDS, which seeks to politically and economically isolate Israel.
“We want the mayor to stop demonizing the only Jewish state using the most vilifying rhetoric focused solely on the only Jewish state and the supporters of it,” Eric Goldstein, chief executive of UJA-Federation of New York, said this week after a Jewish man was stabbed in New York City in a hate crime. “Using language like ‘monsters,’ using the most horrible, difficult language that inflames and terrorizes that causes people to do terrible things and creates in the community against whom it’s being said feelings of really being targeted, isolated and unsafe.
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Anti-Israel political leaders in the U.S. say they do not mean to stoke antisemitism in targeting the Middle Eastern democracy and Netanyahu.
“When it comes to my comments about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they are critiques not based on my personal analysis but rather on objective facts,” Mamdani said during an interview with NY1 this week. “They are critiques of a political leader, not of people of a specific faith or a religion or a background, and my responsibility as the mayor of this city is to keep every New Yorker safe, no matter where they come from, what they believe in, or frankly, even if they agree with my politics.”
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