U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sharply condemned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday, branding him “an evil anti-Semite” and accusing him of deliberately fueling hatred against Jews after the mayor once again referred to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as a “war criminal.”

Huckabee’s remarks came in response to a video released by Mamdani in which the mayor reiterated his criticism of Netanyahu while acknowledging that New York City has no legal authority to arrest the Israeli leader if he attends the U.N. General Assembly in September.

Responding on X, Huckabee rejected the notion that Mamdani’s comments stemmed from ignorance. “Would be easy to say NY Mayor is just an ignorant bigot, but he is not dumb,” Huckabee wrote on X. “He’s an evil anti-Semite who deliberately lies about serious things like ‘genocide’ to stoke Jew hate.”

Huckabee went even further, suggesting that the mayor himself should face legal consequences. “If anyone should be arrested, it’s the Mayor of NY for incitement. NYC should be ashamed,” he added.

The ambassador also reposted a video clip showing Mamdani referring to Netanyahu as “a war criminal.”

According to The New York Times, Mamdani said his administration examined whether the New York Police Department could enforce the International Criminal Court’s 2024 arrest warrant against Netanyahu but ultimately determined that the city lacked “independent legal authority” to carry out such an arrest.

Mamdani argued that while New York City could not act on its own, Washington could. “The federal government, however, does,” Mamdani said, urging the United States to join the ICC and enforce the warrant.

The socialist Democratic mayor also declared that “Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City,” accusing the Israeli prime minister of being “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”

President Donald Trump rejected that possibility earlier this week, stating that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form” while visiting the United States.

Legal analysts likewise dismissed Mamdani’s suggestion that New York City could have arrested the Israeli premier. According to CNN, the network’s senior legal analyst described the proposal as “utterly ridiculous,” explaining that matters involving foreign policy fall exclusively under federal jurisdiction and noting that the United States is not a member of the Rome Statute that established the ICC.

Israel has consistently denied the ICC’s accusations of war crimes in Gaza, arguing that its military has taken extraordinary steps to minimize civilian casualties while combating Hamas in the wake of the terrorist organization’s October 7, 2023 massacre.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, including thousands of women and children. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists in its casualty figures.

Mamdani’s latest comments also prompted a forceful response from Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, who accused the mayor of amplifying “Hamas’ propaganda” instead of focusing on the needs of New York City’s residents.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center also criticized Mamdani, saying he was abusing the influence of his office to promote rhetoric that further isolates Israel and deepens divisions within the United States, according to CNN.

{Matzav.com}