New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he doesn’t plan to attend protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the leader’s visit to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 24.
“I do not have any plans to attend any protest at the U.N. General Assembly,” he told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. “I have also been in touch with our police department in general as we prepare for the U.N. General Assembly.”
He stated that “there are no expected threats that we know of, and we continue to be confident in being able to deliver safety and security for New Yorkers.”
Mamdani, who campaigned on having the Israeli premier arrested, later said he lacked the authority to detain the prime minister. He has called on federal authorities to arrest Netanyahu.
Some New York City Police Department members reportedly have said that the mayor encouraging New Yorkers to protest the Israeli leader could put city cops in danger.
Netanyahu is expected in the city next week for the annual gathering of world leaders at U.N. headquarters in Turtle Bay.
In late July, Mamdani was asked what he would tell Palestinian New Yorkers disappointed that he could not fulfill his campaign pledge to arrest Netanyahu and what they should do if the Israeli premier attended the General Assembly in September.
“I think one of the bedrocks of our city is protest,” Mamdani said at the time. “I am simply saying that this is a city where, if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect.”
“I leave it to New Yorkers themselves to make that decision,” he said at the time.
Mamdani said on Wednesday that he never suggested that New Yorkers protest the Israeli prime minister.
“To New Yorkers, I have never encouraged them to protest,” he said. “What I have always told them is that they have the right to do so in the city. We respect that right. And this is a city that is proud of the Constitution, proud of the First Amendment; we’ll continue to do so.”
Asked why the mayor didn’t plan to join any of the demonstrations, he answered that his focus during the General Assembly will be on keeping New Yorkers safe.
“I have made very clear my views, my thoughts, my assessments,” he said. “When it comes to the U.N. General Assembly, my focus is ensuring that our city remains prepared to host representatives from across the world to keep New Yorkers safe.”
City Hall will focus on traffic and other disruptions caused by the gathering, Mamdani said.
“I think also to ensure that we’re able to both address the global conversation that is happening here in our city and the very local concerns that New Yorkers have about traffic and their ability to get from point A to point B over the course of that time period,” he said.
During the same press conference, Mamdani was asked about a lawsuit seeking records about a meeting that Ana María Archila, commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, proposed with the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations.
“Our law department is reviewing this lawsuit,” Mamdani said. “We are fully committed to transparency, and we’re working to return FOIL requests in full accordance with the law,” he added, referring to the state’s Freedom of Information Law.
