Benjamin Netanyahu
Role at the time: Prime Minister of Israel, during an address to the United Nations General Assembly
Statement summary
At the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu says Mamdani tried to stop him from coming to New York and to silence him. He calls Hamas Mamdani's "buddies" and rejects Mamdani's description of Israel's conduct in Gaza.
“Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. … You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me. You can't silence the truth. … 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.”
C-SPAN video from Netanyahu's September 24, 2026 United Nations General Assembly address. The clip includes remarks directed at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after Mamdani called for the International Criminal Court warrant to be upheld if Netanyahu entered the United States.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Netanyahu portrays Mamdani's campaign against his visit as an effort to stop and silence him, directly condemning Mamdani's conduct within this case.