NYC hopeful Mamdani’s vow to arrest Netanyahu likely oversteps what US mayors can do

NEW YORK — If Zohran Mamdani has his way, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will find himself under arrest by New York City’s finest the next time he steps foot in the city.

Mamdani, the Democratic party nominee and presumed frontrunner in the city’s mayoral race, has repeatedly said he would arrest the Israeli premier should Netanyahu visit while he is running city hall, citing an International Criminal Court warrant on war crimes charges.

“As mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu. This is a city that — our values are in line with international law. It’s time that our actions are also,” Mamdani said in a December interview with the Zeteo outlet.

But as with some of Mamdani’s other campaign promises, the candidate may be overreaching on what powers he will have as mayor — even one running the largest city in the United States.

“The short answer is that this would almost certainly not happen,” said Prof. David Bosco of Indiana University, Bloomington, a scholar of international law who wrote a 2014 book about the ICC.

The Hague-based court, formed in 2002 to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes and charges of genocide, issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant last year on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in a bombshell accusation against Israel’s leadership.

More than 120 countries are members of the court, curtailing travel for Netanyahu and Gallant to countries that have promised not to honor the warrants or are not signatories to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, such as Israel or the US, where Netanyahu visited this week.

The court does not have the power to enforce arrests itself and relies on member states to carry out arrests so defendants can stand trial in the Hague.

Mamdani has acknowledged that the US is not a party to the ICC, without explaining how he would still carry out an arrest.

Addressing the ICC’s lack of jurisdiction in the US during a panel at a synagogue last month, Mamdani said, “I believe our city should be in compliance with international law.”

Rebecca Hamilton, a professor of international law at American University and a former lawyer with the ICC, said that, in theory, countries that are not party to the court could still carry out arrests based on ICC warrants.

“The court can ask any non-state party for help with an arrest warrant, and that state can decide whether or not to do so,” Hamilton said. “It is just that only states that have joined the Rome Statute are under a legal obligation to execute an ICC warrant.”

It is up to individual countries to decide if local officials have the authority to execute an international warrant, Hamilton added.

US federal law prohibits municipal governments from cooperating with the court, though. The American Service-Members’ Protection Act, passed in 2002, bars local authorities from cooperating with the court or providing the ICC support.

“No agency or entity of any State or local government, including any court, may cooperate with the International Criminal Court,” the law says.

A separate federal law prohibits imprisonment, intimidation, harassment, threats and obstruction against foreign officials, including heads of state. Imprisonment of a foreign official can result in a fine and up to three years in prison.

The Trump administration is also no fan of the ICC and sanctioned the court in February to penalize it for the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

Netanyahu is a frequent visitor to New York City, traveling there nearly every September to attend the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in Manhattan. Even though Netanyahu will be in the city, matters like international warrants remain the purview of the federal government.

“Diplomatic immunity and the conduct of foreign relations are federal matters and the federal government is given wide discretion by the courts to manage foreign policy and international legal relations,” Bosco said, adding that the Trump administration and Congress have both opposed the ICC warrants.

Even if Mamdani wanted to put Netanyahu in cuffs for jaywalking, US law and international custom grant diplomatic immunity to members of foreign diplomatic missions, including visiting dignitaries, preventing them from being arrested or prosecuted for ordinary crimes like traffic violations.

Exceptions are only made in extreme cases, such as threats to public safety or violent felonies, under the aegis of the US State Department, which views its authority to expel foreign diplomats as “an extreme diplomatic tool,” only used in very rare circumstances.

“Even if New York authorities were somehow to attempt an arrest, it would be akin to a publicity stunt that would be immediately opposed and reversed,” with backing from federal courts, Bosco said.

A New York City mayor does not have the executive power to make arrests, but does rely on the NYPD.

If Mamdani ordered Netanyahu arrested, the order would go to the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for legal matters, said Mitch Silber, the former NYPD director of intelligence analysis and the head of the Community Security Initiative, a Jewish community security group.

The deputy commissioner would review the order’s legality and advise the police commissioner on whether the arrest could be carried out. If the arrest was not deemed legal, the NYPD wouldn’t take action, said Silber, who added that he is not familiar with the relevant federal laws and could not weigh in on the ICC’s jurisdiction in New York.

“The NYPD can’t take illegal acts, even if the mayor wants them to,” Silber said. “If it’s an act that they’re prohibited from doing by federal law, then they’re not going to do it because it’s going to get overturned immediately.”

Netanyahu would also need to be extradited to the Hague to stand trial, which would require the involvement of federal authorities, like the Department of Justice or the US Marshals, Silber said.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on Mamdani’s vow to arrest Netanyahu.

Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

While countries are technically obligated by the Rome Statute, the ICC has no enforceable way to compel states not to simply ignore its arrest warrants. In April, Hungary chose not to arrest Netanyahu when he visited, despite Hungary being a member of the court at the time. Hungary later withdrew from the ICC.

During his visit to Washington, DC, this week, Netanyahu said he still plans to visit New York and that he was “not concerned” about Mamdani’s pledge to arrest him if elected.

“There’s enough craziness in the world, but I guess it never ends,” Netanyahu said. “It’s silly in many ways because it’s just not serious.”

“I’ll get him out,” US President Donald Trump said as Netanyahu was speaking.

Trump has been vocally opposed to Mamdani, calling him a “Communist lunatic” and threatening to arrest Mamdani if he opposes federal immigration enforcement in New York City.

Mamdani, a harsh critic of Israel who has identified as anti-Zionist, is the heavy favorite to win November’s general election for mayor. He swept to victory in the Democratic primary last month with a campaign centered on addressing affordability in the city, promising to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund cheaper housing and groceries while making buses and kindergartens free.

Critics say he lacks the authority to see many of his ideas to fruition on his own without the support of the New York State legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul.

A poll released last month found that Mamdani’s pledge to arrest Netanyahu was not popular with New Yorkers. According to the survey, 45% of New Yorkers oppose acting on the ICC warrant, while 36% support it. The remainder were undecided or did not have an opinion.

On the other hand, local or federal authorities in New York could potentially take action against the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, though sanctions currently prevent him from entering the country.

Khan allegedly sexually abused one of his subordinates repeatedly, including in a Manhattan hotel in 2023, according to a May report in the Wall Street Journal. Khan canceled an investigative trip to Israel and Gaza and rushed out the warrants shortly after the allegations surfaced, the report said.

The report suggested Khan issued the warrants to build support for himself with anti-Israel ICC member states, and forestall his accuser, who strongly supported the warrants.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office did not respond to requests for comment on whether Khan was being investigated. Khan has denied the accusations.