Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief opponent in the upcoming election, excoriates New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, denouncing his recent comments as baseless and antisemitic.By World Israel News StaffFormer IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of “pure antisemitism” Wednesday after the mayor called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and urged the US government to arrest him.Mamdani released a video Tuesday acknowledging that New York City does not have the legal authority to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu.“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” Mamdani said.The mayor nevertheless urged the federal government to join the ICC and arrest Netanyahu if he enters the United States. He also declared that the Israeli prime minister was not welcome in New York.Mamdani had previously said his administration was discussing the issue with the city’s legal department ahead of Netanyahu’s expected visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September.“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said in an interview published days earlier. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”The mayor has also accused Netanyahu of being responsible for what he described as a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party and Netanyahu’s chief opponent in the October general election, responded by accusing Mamdani of disregarding the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre that began the war.“No one can rewrite history and turn the aggressor into the victim,” Eisenkot said.He described Mamdani’s remarks as “pure antisemitism, with no basis in fact,” and said they were dangerous and inflammatory.Eisenkot recalled that Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages. The victims included Israelis and foreign nationals from several religious backgrounds.He said the attack was the deadliest act of terrorism and antisemitic violence against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.Eisenkot also rejected efforts to equate Hamas with the Israeli military, saying the IDF operates under established values and international law.“The people of Israel will stand united against any attempt” to distort the events of October 7, he said.Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also condemned Mamdani’s video and accused the mayor of promoting Hamas’s narrative.“You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’ propaganda,” Danon said. “Do your job!”Former prime minister Naftali Bennett said Mamdani had placed himself on the wrong side of history by condemning Israel while failing to mention the atrocities committed by Hamas.Bennett said Israel had been fighting a just war against an organization that murdered, kidnapped and sexually assaulted civilians. Addressing Mamdani, he added: “Your silence on their crimes is deafening.”Mamdani’s video followed several days of public debate over whether a New York mayor could legally order Netanyahu’s arrest.During his 2025 mayoral campaign, Mamdani repeatedly said he would seek to have the Israeli leader detained under the ICC warrant if Netanyahu visited the city.After taking office, however, Mamdani said a legal review had concluded that the city lacked the independent authority to carry out such an arrest.The United States is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction over American citizens or the nationals of countries that have not joined it. Israel is also not a member.President Donald Trump said this week that Netanyahu would not be arrested while visiting the United States.The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe they bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict.The court alleged that humanitarian supplies had been restricted and that starvation had been used as a method of warfare.Israel has rejected the accusations, disputed the court’s jurisdiction and said its operations were directed against Hamas following the October 7 massacre.Israeli officials maintain that the military facilitated large amounts of humanitarian aid entering Gaza while Hamas seized supplies, operated among civilians and used civilian infrastructure for military purposes.Mamdani has repeatedly described Israel’s military campaign as genocide and has supported restricting American military assistance to the country. He has denied accusations that his criticism of Israel is antisemitic and has said he is committed to protecting Jewish New Yorkers.The latest confrontation demonstrated that Mamdani’s policies toward Israel remain a source of tension between his administration and Israeli political leaders.Eisenkot’s criticism was particularly notable because he is a prominent opponent of Netanyahu and has sharply criticized the prime minister’s leadership inside Israel.Despite those political differences, Eisenkot defended Netanyahu against Mamdani’s accusations and said Israelis would not accept attempts to erase the context of the war or equate the IDF with Hamas.The post Netanyahu rival accuses Mamdani of ‘pure antisemitism’ and October 7 revisionism appeared first on World Israel News.