Does criticising actions of the Israeli government or its prime minister fuel antisemitism? Despite this argument’s stretch of logic and the danger its bizarre conflation presents to American Jews, some US pro-Israel organisations are working overtime to establish the case that criticising Israel puts American Jews at risk. Benjamin Netanyahu echoed this view in a recent interview with an American TV network, levelling this very charge against New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Tensions between Mamdani and pro-Israel groups, brewing since his 2025 election campaign, were reignited by Netanyahu’s recent US visit. Mamdani was asked by a reporter whether he would fulfil a campaign pledge to arrest the Israeli prime minister as a war criminal, as per the indictment issued by the International Criminal Court.

In response, the mayor convened legal experts who concluded that the city, on its own, didn’t have the authority to make an arrest—only the federal government could do that. Mamdani released a short video acknowledging that he lacked the power to order an arrest, but calling out Netanyahu as a war criminal and stating that he........

© The Nation