{"id":2632622,"date":"2026-07-20T12:17:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-mamdani-contemplates-netanyahu-arrest-clip-resurfaces-of-him-declaring-israel-not-a-place-and-not-a-country\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T12:20:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:20:28","slug":"as-mamdani-contemplates-netanyahu-arrest-clip-resurfaces-of-him-declaring-israel-not-a-place-and-not-a-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-mamdani-contemplates-netanyahu-arrest-clip-resurfaces-of-him-declaring-israel-not-a-place-and-not-a-country\/","title":{"rendered":"As Mamdani Contemplates Netanyahu Arrest, Clip Resurfaces of Him Declaring Israel &#8216;Not a Place&#8217; and &#8216;Not a Country&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fas-mamdani-contemplates-netanyahu-arrest-clip-resurfaces-of-him-declaring-israel-not-a-place-and-not-a-country%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2632622&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The provided content features an article discussing New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s controversial statements and actions related to Israel and its leadership. Mamdani has expressed his belief that he has the power to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a \u201cwar criminal\u201d should Netanyahu visit New York for the UN General Assembly. He asserts that Netanyahu belongs in The Hague and claims to be in active discussions with local authorities about potential legal options. Mamdani\u2019s comments highlight his view of Netanyahu as a war criminal charged by the International Criminal Court,though the U.S. does not recognize the ICC or its verdicts.<\/p>\n<p>Mamdani has a history of criticizing Israel, once questioning its existence and describing it as \u201cnot a place, not a country,\u201d framing it more as an idea. He has expressed skepticism about the viability of a two-state solution and criticized Israel\u2019s policies toward palestinians, emphasizing his strong pro-Palestinian stance. His remarks have sparked debate, especially given that he is a mayor with no legal authority over foreign leaders.<\/p>\n<p>The article also points out Mamdani\u2019s apparent obsession with Israel, suggesting that his focus on Israeli politics and his comments are part of a broader agenda rather than mere political rhetoric. Critics argue that Mamdani\u2019s threats and statements are designed to promote a particular anti-Zionist or anti-Israel position, potentially reflecting personal biases rather than realistic policy intentions. the piece portrays Mamdani as engaging in inflammatory rhetoric about Israel, raising questions about his motives and the implications for New York City\u2019s diplomatic stance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani still believes that he has the power to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a \u201cwar criminal\u201d if he comes to Gotham for the United Nations General Assembly.<\/p>\n<p>As for whether he actually believes Israel is a real country, that\u2019s still a question that\u2019s up in the air.<\/p>\n<p>Considering that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/zohran-mamdani-vendetta-italians\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mamdani<\/a> is mulling over one of his most deranged campaign promises, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mamdani-admits-exploring-plan-arrest-netanyahu-new-york-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to arrest Netanyahu<\/a>, whether or not he believes that the man presides over an actual nation (spoiler alert: he does) is not of inconsiderable interest, as a clip from 2023 again making the rounds demonstrates.<\/p>\n<p>The occasion to bring it out of cold storage was an interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/07\/18\/nyregion\/mamdani-netanyahu-interview.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a> for a podcast published Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,\u201d Mamdani said, referring to the home of the United Nations\u2019 International Court of Justice in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,\u201d Mamdani continued. \u201cAnd what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that he was in what he described as \u201can active conversation\u201d with the New York City Law Department over his options.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s probably worth noting here that the United States recognizes the state of Israel and is not a party to the ICC. It\u2019s also worth noting that one is not a war criminal until conviction and that the reason the United States isn\u2019t a signatory to the ICC is partially because it tends to reach perverse verdicts (and issue groundless warrants) anyhow.<\/p>\n<p>So there\u2019s all that. There\u2019s also the fact that Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza are not the sixth, seventh, and eighth boroughs of the city of New York.<\/p>\n<p>This is funny, because he seems to have an obsession with those pieces of land despite running for and winning the mayoralty of the most populous city in America.<\/p>\n<p>But then, he\u2019s always been obsessed with Israel, as the resurfaced quote of him calling into question its existence proved.<\/p>\n<p>During the clip \u2014 recorded months after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/israeli-intel-noticed-something-suspicious-hamas-attack-watching-pattern\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks<\/a> in December of 2023, when Mamdani was a New York assemblyman, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/flashback-zohran-mamdani-says-israel-not-place-not-country\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a> \u2014 Mamdani talked of a pro-Israel \u201cpolitical apparatus that is still well-funded, quite strong, but is increasingly becoming more and more separated from public sentiment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor so many people, Israel is not a place, it is not a country. It\u2019s an idea,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou see that in so many politicians\u2019 answers to the questions around Israel, is that their answers were written around 20, 30 years ago. They speak to a reality that does not exist,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey pledge fealty to the idea of a two-state solution, irrespective of the fact that a second state for Palestinians is physically impossible because it\u2019s not even a contiguous piece of land at this moment between where Palestinians live. So, that all tells us that there is this disconnect.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201cIsrael is not a place. It is not a country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zohran Mamdani said this in 2023 alongside Hamas supporters Simone Zimmerman, Najla Said and Noura Erakat. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7YP3q1Pd1q\">pic.twitter.com\/7YP3q1Pd1q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Canary Mission (@canarymission) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/canarymission\/status\/2078965695291724017?\">July 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>So, we\u2019re really supposed to believe that Mamdani is a man dispassionately carrying out an ICC warrant which is useless on American shores?<\/p>\n<p>Reiterating Mamdani\u2019s full history as it regards the Jewish state, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/never-grew-mamdanis-college-essay-white-privilege-resurfaces\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">even going back to his college days<\/a>, is a fool\u2019s errand. Suffice it to say that the man has become the template of the air-quotes \u201canti-Zionist\u201d for whom everything a Jewish or AIPAC-supported politician does with regards to Israel must be viewed with intense suspicion, but his own views need not be examined.<\/p>\n<p>Mamdani is, I reiterate, a mayor. He does not have the capacity to lock the prime minister of another nation up on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mamdani-watches-world-cup-semis-one-affordable-housing-locales-available-nyc-jail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rikers Island<\/a> to prove a point he can\u2019t back up \u2014 not unless he wants to come into the biggest diplomatic row in many a decade.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019ll also say this: He isn\u2019t a stupid mayor. Oh, he may sound the part sometimes when he feigns ignorance about the Jewish state or his powers, but he isn\u2019t a dummy. This is a ruse, plain and simple, to make a foreign policy agenda he has no power to carry out into a priority concern.<\/p>\n<p>If you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/viral-exchange-second-nyc-mayor-debate-proves-mamdani-cuomo-never-run-anything-ever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">voted for or supported this fool<\/a>, remember: We told you so. A man who is this consumed over the activities of one country which is not even his in the state assembly does not intend to give up those grievances when he becomes a mayor.<\/p>\n<p><em>Caveat emptor,<\/em> New York. Whatever chaos he sows in the weeks leading up to the U.N. General Assembly, you have only yourselves to blame for it. He certainly told you precisely what was coming.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Mayor Mamdani claims he can arrest Netanyahu as a \u201cwar criminal\u201d at the UN, but his belief in Israel\u2019s legitimacy remains uncertain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2632623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-07-20T083014.705.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4671,56552,6524],"class_list":["post-2632622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-israel","tag-mamdani","tag-netanyahu"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-07-20T083014.705.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2632622"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2632625,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632622\/revisions\/2632625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2632623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2632622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2632622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2632622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}