Dershowitz: 'If Mamdani interferes with Netanyahu's UN trip, he will be arrested'
Legal scholar Alan Dershowitz has warned that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani could face arrest if he attempts to interfere with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming visit to the UN. This follows a dispute over Mamdani's calls to enforce an ICC arrest warrant against the Israeli leader, despite the city lacking the legal authority to do so.
Why it matters
The intersection of international law, municipal authority, and diplomatic immunity creates significant legal and political tension regarding the treatment of visiting foreign officials.
Prof. Alan Dershowitz, one of the United States' leading jurists, said on Friday that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would himself face arrest if he attempted to interfere with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's expected visit to New York for the UN General Assembly in September, escalating a public dispute over the mayor's calls to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant against the Israeli leader. Speaking to Newsmax, Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor emeritus and a member of Netanyahu's legal team challenging the ICC case, said he was prepared to defend the prime minister if any attempt were made to impede his visit. "Look, I'm one of Bibi Netanyahu's lawyers," Dershowitz said, using Netanyahu's nickname. "If Mamdani does anything to interfere with Bibi Netanyahu's arrival in New York and speech, he will be arrested."
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