You tried to silence me: Netanyahu's swipe at Zohran Mamdani at UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a swipe at New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, accusing him of trying to stop him from coming to the city and silencing him.

Addressing Mamdani directly, Netanyahu said, "Mr Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me and you can't silence the truth."

Netanyahu also accused Mamdani of making Jewish residents feel unsafe in New York since his election as mayor.

"Mr Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York. They talk to me, they tell me this isn't the city we remember, it changed so quickly," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu used his UN speech to accuse Mamdani of endangering Jewish residents through his criticism of Israel's military actions in Gaza. He also accused the mayor of spreading lies about Israel and described him as "the antisemitic mayor of New York."

The remarks marked the latest exchange between Netanyahu and Mamdani, New York City's first Muslim mayor and a vocal critic of Israel's actions in Gaza.

Mamdani has called Netanyahu a "war criminal" and "the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people". He has maintained that his criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights do not amount to antisemitism.

The dispute between the two also dates back to Mamdani's mayoral campaign last year. During the campaign, Mamdani said he would direct police in New York to execute an arrest warrant against Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court. He later acknowledged that the city does not have the authority to take Netanyahu into custody.

Since then, Mamdani has urged the federal government to arrest Netanyahu. US President Donald Trump, however, has said the Israeli prime minister will not be arrested.

Mamdani met Trump in New York this week. During his UN speech, Netanyahu praised the US president for backing Israel, saying, "We've had no greater partner than President Trump."

Mamdani's office did not immediately comment on Netanyahu's speech.