New York City Mayor Mamdani Advocates for US to Join ICC and Arrest Netanyahu

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed his belief that the United States should join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and enforce an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a podcast interview with Theo Von aired on Thursday. Mamdani stated, "I believe that the US government should join the ICC. It should enforce its warrants for everyone." He referred to Netanyahu as the "architect of a horrific genocide." The ICC has 124 member states and can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states. Both Israel and the US are not members and do not recognize the court's jurisdiction. US officials, including members of the Biden administration and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), criticized the ICC warrant against Netanyahu, calling it "shameful," "unserious," and "troubling." Mamdani had previously vowed during his mayoral campaign to have Netanyahu arrested if he visited New York City but later acknowledged in July that there were no legal avenues to do so. Netanyahu was in New York City last month for the United Nations General Assembly, where he criticized Mamdani, stating that "Jews no longer feel safe" in the city under his leadership. Mamdani responded to Netanyahu's comments, suggesting they were an attempt to distract from accountability, saying, "If I was the architect of a genocide, I would probably talk about anything but that."