From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 1, 2025
Sources confirm Herzog heading to NYC amid PM pardon saga, after Mamdani win
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
President Isaac Herzog is heading to New York City next week, sources close to the president tell The Times of Israel.
His meetings will be primarily with the Jewish community there, according to the sources.
They would not say whether he will meet US President Donald Trump. Ynet reported earlier that no such meeting was planned.
The visit comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally asked for a pardon from Herzog, something that Trump is pushing Herzog to grant.
It also comes after the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York, who has pledged to arrest Netanyahu if he travels to the city. Mamdani has not yet taken office.
The 34-year-old Mamdani declined at first to condemn slogans such as “Globalize the Intifada” or to call for the disarmament of the Hamas terror group, though he reversed himself on both points following significant backlash. Some 64% of “connected” American Jews said in a recent poll that they view Mamdani as both anti-Israeli and antisemitic.
The Times of Israel Community.