Wake up, media: Mamdani’s Netanyahu threat endangers democracy
In “progressive” and some Democratic circles across the United States, activists are celebrating a man who has said he would conduct an extrajudicial arrest. Some of the same people who decried “lock her up” chants about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at President Donald Trump’s rallies in 2016 are now openly supporting a candidate who has vowed to illegally arrest a foreign leader if given the chance. And the mainstream media is looking the other way.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist who recently won New York’s Democratic mayoral primary, proudly insists that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to set foot in the city during his administration, he would have him arrested, citing a warrant from the International Criminal Court. There’s a problem, as I explain in the new episode of They Stand Corrected, which fact checks the news. That “warrant” has no legal authority in the United States. The country is not a party to the ICC.
Mamdani acknowledges this. Trying to justify his threat, he said at a pre-election debate, “There are times when courage is required… 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.”
This is preposterous. International laws, such as those the ICC consider, are formed among nations that agree to treaties with each other. If Mamdani wants the United States to join certain international treaties, there is a democratic process he can follow. He can vote for people in the federal government who would have the country do so.
Mamdani also tried to compare his threat to something then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom did in 2004: grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in defiance of state law. Mamdani has this backward. In fact, Newsom’s administration argued that it had the right to issue those licenses under the U.S. Constitution. Newsom’s team went to court to make that argument. It lost that battle. But ultimately, through the U.S. democratic system, same-sex marriage became legal nationwide.
There is no constitutional argument for what Mamdani wants to do. One of the most fundamental rules of democracy is that people in positions of authority cannot grant themselves additional powers — including the power to arrest people illegally, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
But increasingly, people on both ends of the political spectrum are willing to accept openly antidemocratic maneuvers, as long as those maneuvers are described in language that pleases a political base. In this case, a reference to same-sex marriage and demonization of Israel combine to form an ideal “progressive” concoction.
One of the most fundamental rules of democracy is that people in positions of authority cannot grant themselves additional powers.
Since winning the primary, Mamdani has made the rounds across major media, being hailed as a new leading Democratic figure. None called him out on this. Perhaps worst of all, New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg wrote glowingly about him, denying his long record of antisemitism.
Attempting to trash his rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Goldberg wrote that while Cuomo joined Netanyahu’s defense team, “Mamdani, by contrast, has said he’d enforce the warrant if Netanyahu ever comes to New York.” She then simply went on with her column, failing to tell readers that a U.S. mayor has no power to “enforce” anything from the ICC.
Even some nations that are party to the ICC have indicated they would not arrest Netanyahu. In fact, they might not even be allowed to, says Joel Margolis, legal commentator with the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (a rare expert on the complexities of international laws).
“Sovereign immunity is a principle of customary international law, which means it’s derived from widespread past international practice, as opposed to any particular treaty,” he told me. “An ICC arrest warrant can theoretically supersede the principle of sovereign immunity. But because Israel is not a member of the ICC, officials like Netanyahu and (Israeli Defense Minister Yoav) Gallant are not subject to ICC arrest warrants. They are protected by sovereign immunity from arrest in foreign countries.”
Throughout this time, Mamdani has been assailing Trump and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for arresting immigrants without showing a warrant. The fact that no one in Democratic circles or mainstream media has pointed this out is very telling. It’s not just antidemocratic movements seeing a surge — it’s open, shameless hypocrisy.