Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic New York City mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York, US. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani again defended his support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and his promise to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an event at the B’nai Jeshurun synagogue in Manhattan on Sunday.

“I’ve seen the efficacy of non-violent movements in creating compliance in international law, specifically with South Africa. That is what brought me to support BDS, and what I’ve said is that one need not visit Israel to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers,” Mamdani said, referring to the international movement that seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination.

Mandani said that he would prefer to combat antisemitism by engaging with New York City Jews on a personal basis and that expressing support for Israel is not necessary to be an ally of the Jewish community. 

“Ultimately, the focus of our mayor should be on the issues of New York City, at hand,” he argued.

Mamdani then defended his vow to arrest Netanyahu if he visits New York, comparing the Israeli premier to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“My answer is the same whether we are speaking about Vladimir Putin or Netanyahu. I think that this should be a city that is in compliance with international law,” Mamdani said. “And we have seen, other countries across the world that are signatories of the ICC [International Criminal Court] that they would honor that same request, being Canada or other countries in Europe, and their honoring of it meant that Netanyahu did not travel there.”

Mamdani acknowledged that the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, but argued that “there are times where courage is required,” comparing his desire to arrest Netanyahu to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to defy federal law and issue marriage certificates to same-sex couples as mayor of San Francisco.

“What I am trying to showcase is a belief that international law is something that should be honored, should be respected, and something that we should actually bring our city into compliance with,” Mamdani said. 

US and Israeli leaders have blasted the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, rejecting the allegations as false and decrying the court for drawing a moral equivalence between Israel’s democratically elected leaders and the heads of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that launched the ongoing war in Gaza with its massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2o23.

Although Mamdani, a representative within the New York State Assembly, entered New York City’s mayoral race as a longshot, polls indicate that the progressive firebrand has made significant strides among the electorate in the past month. Mamdani trails former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent among likely voters, according to a May 23-26 Emerson College poll.

In the closing stretch of the Democratic primary, Mamdani’s views on Israel and antisemitism have been increasingly scrutinized. Mamdani, a member of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) organization, has been under pressure by anti-Israel activists to adopt a more adversarial posture against the Jewish state.

Moreover, the progressive official also sparked outrage after engaging in a series of provocative actions, such as appearing on the podcast of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas influencer Hasan Piker and vowing to arrest Netanyahu.

During an event hosted by the UJA-Federation of New York last month, Mamdani also declined to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

“I believe that Israel has a right to exist with equal rights for all,” Mamdani said in a carefully worded response when asked, sidestepping the issue of Israel’s existence specifically as a “Jewish state.”

During last week’s New York City Democratic mayoral debate, he once again refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, sparking immediate backlash among the other candidates.

The post NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Defends BDS Support, Vows to Arrest Netanyahu During Synagogue Event first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

A series of recent New York Times articles have promoted the false impression that Israel is starving Gazans.

The Saturday, May 31 edition of the New York Times carried a haunting front-page photograph of a skeletal child with the cutline “Hunger Tightens Its Grip on Gaza” and the further text, “Aid began to trickle into the territory last week, almost all of it arriving at southern distribution centers. But there is never enough. Above, a girl, 6, in Gaza City, in the strip’s north.”

What the front-page photo cutline does not say but is discernible with further research in the Times online, is that the child in the picture, Najwa Hussein Hajjaj, “needs specially prepared meals because of an esophagus condition,” and that “the Jordanian authorities, who heard about her case, are trying to evacuate her to receive medical care abroad.”

What’s to blame, Israel or the esophagus condition? In any case, systems for evacuating the sickest Gazans are apparently operating and would be operating even better if more countries like Jordan were willing to accept more Gazans.

The Monday, June 2 edition of the New York Times advanced the narrative with a top-of-the-front-page headline: “Over 20 Killed at Gaza Aid Site.” The Times article began, “More than 20 people were killed on Sunday and more than 100 wounded when Palestinians who had gathered overnight in the hope of obtaining food from an aid distribution center in Gaza came under fire, according to local health officials.”

The Wednesday, June 4 edition of the Times carried another front-page article, headlined, “Israel Again Opens Fire on Gazans Near Aid Hub.” The article began by reporting, “The Red Cross and Gaza health ministry said at least 27 people had been killed.”

The Washington Post ran a correction of its own article on this subject, saying it “fell short of Post standards of fairness,” and that “the Post didn’t give proper weight to Israel’s denial and gave improper certitude about what was known about any Israeli role in the shootings.” Yet there has been no correction from the New York Times, which was just as irresponsible.

Here’s what the New York Times is not sharing with its readers on the front page. The American ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, in a “Statement on Media Misinformation on Gaza,” said, “Reckless and irresponsible reporting by major US news outlets are contributing to the antisemitic climate that has resulted in the murder of two young people at an Israeli Embassy event in Washington last month and the attempted murder and terror attack on a group of pro-Israel demonstrators in Colorado on Sunday.”

Ambassador Huckabee went on: “Without verification of any source other than Hamas and its collaborators, the New York Times, CNN, and Associated Press reported that a number of people seeking to receive humanitarian food boxes from the Gaza Humanitarian Fund were shot or killed by the Israeli Defense Forces. These reports were FALSE. Drone video and first-hand accounts clearly showed that there were no injuries, no fatalities, no shooting, no chaos. It is Hamas that continues to terrorize and intimidate those who seek food aid. The only source for these misleading, exaggerated, and utterly fabricated stories came from Hamas sources, which are designed to fan the flames of antisemitic hate that is arguably contributing to violence against Jews in the United States.”

Said Huckabee, “For the New York Times, AP, and CNN to be part of a Hamas-fed false narrative is reprehensible. It represents more than mere sloppy journalism. It’s feeding and inciting violence against innocent people in the United States.”

The Times appointed a former United Nations employee, Lauren Jackson, to criticize the non-Hamas aid program in Gaza. “For most of the war, experienced groups like the United Nations have distributed aid,” the former UN employee wrote for the Times. Israel claimed that Hamas had diverted the aid, but “that couldn’t be verified by the Times, and the UN said it was exaggerated,” wrote Jackson, the former UN employee reporting on the UN for the Times. Her article included the photo of Najwa Hussein Hajjaj, while identifying her incorrectly as “Hussein Hajjaj” and again failing to include either the context about her esophagus condition or the context about her possible evacuation to Jordan.

The Israeli government arm Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, also released a recording of a Gazan explaining that on Sunday maybe seven or eight people were killed, and that the Hamas terrorists were the ones who fired on the people. “The people who fired were Hamas terrorists. They don’t want the people to receive aid, they want to foil the plan so that the aid will go to them, allowing them to steal it … They’re criminals, like ISIS, they have no compassion for their own people.” An Israeli government spokesman also released video: “Watch with your own eyes: Hamas shoots at civilians in Gaza to prevent them from reaching aid distribution points.”

Anyway, there are at least two two sides to this story. The Hamas terrorists say Israel is starving the Gazans and murdering the Gazans seeking food aid. The Israeli and American government says the Hamas terrorists are shooting the Gazans seeking food aid. The Times is just giving its readers the Hamas side of the story, falsely depicting Israel as starving innocent and otherwise healthy Gazan children.

Ambassador Huckabee said, “Media sources who willingly parrot these libelous allegations should recant their fake news stories, apologize, and pledge to practice actual reporting of fact instead of engaging in dangerous propaganda that assists the terror group Hamas as they continue to hold innocent hostages for over 600 days after butchering over 1,200 people on October 7th.” He’s right.

Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post. He writes frequently at TheEditors.com. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, can be found here.

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Argentine President Javier Milei delivers a speech at the Madrid Economic Forum, in Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Argentine President Javier Milei is set to arrive in Tel Aviv on Tuesday for a three-day visit to the Jewish state, where he is expected to meet with Israeli officials to deepen bilateral relations and cooperation, after postponing a planned trip in March.

Last week, Milei embarked on a 10-day international tour — the longest since he took office — with planned stops in Italy, France, Spain, and Israel, where he will spend the most time.

In two separate meetings scheduled for Tuesday, the Argentine leader will meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Later that day, Milei will also visit the Western Wall (Kotel), which he described as “the highlight” of the trip.

On Wednesday, he is scheduled to take part in the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the City of David, followed by a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Later that afternoon, Milei will meet with relatives of Argentine-Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas during the terrorist group’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, to offer his support and solidarity.

Milei is also set to deliver a formal address at Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset, where he will be awarded the prestigious $1 million Genesis Prize — dubbed the “Jewish Nobel” by TIME magazine.

According to the Genesis Prize Foundation, Milei will be the first non-Jewish recipient of the award and the first head of state to receive it in recognition of his unwavering support for Israel, commitment to democratic values, and resolute stand against terrorism and antisemitism.

The Argentine leader announced he will donate the prize money to fund a new initiative aimed at strengthening diplomatic ties between Israel and Latin American countries, as well as combating antisemitism across the region.

On Thursday, Milei is scheduled to speak at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and later that day, he will announce the launch of direct flights between Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv.

During his last day in Israel, Milei will sign a “Memorandum of Understanding for Democracy and Freedom” with Netanyahu to strengthen cooperation against terrorism and antisemitism.

The agreement is intended as a counterweight to the MoU signed by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner with Iran, which allegedly covered up the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

After signing the MoU, Milei and Netanyahu will deliver a joint declaration.

Since taking office over a year ago, Milei has been one of Israel’s most vocal supporters, strengthening bilateral relations to unprecedented levels and in the process breaking with decades of Argentine foreign policy tradition to firmly align with Jerusalem and Washington.

In February 2024, on his first international trip as president, Milei visited Israel in a show of wartime solidarity and reiterated his pledge to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem.

Earlier this year, more than 30 members of the Argentine Congress signed a Declaration of Solidarity and Friendship with the State of Israel in the Buenos Aires parliament. The declaration emphasized their unwavering support for Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, while also expressing strong backing for the recognition of Jerusalem as the country’s capital.

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