Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says his top opponent in the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, would be “weaponizing” the justice system if he arrests Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as mayor.
Mamdani, who has taken the most staunchly anti-Israel approach in the race, has said he would arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot in the city.
“That’s weaponizing the justice system,” Cuomo said. “’I don’t like you politically. I’m going to arrest you.’ That’s illegal, unconstitutional, anti-American, and it is the exact thing that we complain that the federal government does.”
The former governor called Mamdani’s threat “hyperbolic rhetoric” toward his discontent with Israel.
He added that the New York City mayor “doesn’t do American foreign policy” and compared Mamdani’s threat to an arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin if he came to the United Nations in the city.
“We have the U.N. When Putin comes to visit the U.N., you don’t arrest Putin because you don’t like Russia,” he added.
He said if Mamdani orders Netanyahu’s arrest, he should face the same fate. “It would be illegal. The only person who should be arrested if that happened is Mamdani,” Cuomo told reporters Monday.
Mamdani is the favorite to win the city’s top job as the Democratic nominee against Cuomo, incumbent Eric Adams, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
His campaign slammed Cuomo for being unwilling to arrest Netanyahu, who has a warrant out for his arrest from the International Criminal Court over Israel’s conduct in its war in Gaza.
“Andrew Cuomo would rather arrest his political rival than condemn a war criminal charged with genocide,” Mamdani campaign spokeswoman Dora Pekec said.
“Cuomo seemingly taking a page out of his longtime friend Donald Trump’s playbook isn’t just outrageous — it’s authoritarian, it’s dangerous, and it’s morally bankrupt,” she added.
Mamdani said he would honor his pledge if it were to pass. Netanyahu has been accused of being a war criminal following thousands of Palestinian deaths in Gaza in Israel’s war against Hamas.
“This is something that I intend to fulfill,” Mamdani said. “It is my desire to ensure that this be a city that stands up for international law.”
