New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's comments about Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are making Jewish New Yorkers less safe and fueling antisemitism, Rep. Nick Langworthy said on Newsmax Saturday.
Mamdani's recent threats that Netanyahu could be arrested if he travels to New York City, the New York Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend," were irresponsible and beyond the authority of any mayor.
"I think this is very long-term damage that's done," Langworthy said. "It's dividing people in the city, and it's making our Jewish residents in New York less safe. He's normalizing antisemitism."
Langworthy said no New York City mayor has the authority to arrest foreign leaders and warned the rhetoric is particularly dangerous because New York hosts the United Nations, where world leaders routinely gather.
"No mayor has ever had the power to arrest foreign dignitaries or heads of state," he said. "In a city that actually hosts the United Nations, it's a downright dangerous proposition."
Instead of weighing in on foreign policy, Langworthy said Mamdani should concentrate on the city's day-to-day responsibilities.
"A mayor should be focusing on the services of the city, making sure the potholes are filled, the subway runs on time," he said. "He's busy trying to insert himself in international affairs."
Langworthy also connected the mayor's rhetoric to concerns about rising antisemitic violence, pointing to Thursday's stabbing of two men leaving a synagogue in New York. Authorities arrested a 51-year-old suspect after the attack, who reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the assault.
"Whether people like it or not, he has a very large platform, and he has followers that are listening to him," Langworthy said. "He's normalizing antisemitism with his attack on Israel, his unwillingness to march in the parade, the constant inflammatory rhetoric about the war in Gaza."
Langworthy said public officials must recognize that their words carry consequences.
"People are going to get hurt," he said. "We've seen it with the stabbing, and I sadly believe this is only the beginning. He's got to tone down this rhetoric and understand that he has to be a mayor for the entire city."
With the U.N. General Assembly scheduled for September, Langworthy said Mamdani's comments have unnecessarily heightened tensions ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.
"He set the table with this statement," Langworthy said. "No one ever believed he had the ability to arrest the president [or prime minister] of Israel. He sets this video up like it's a trailer on Netflix, like this is some revelation."
Langworthy said the comments also place added pressure on the New York Police Department as it prepares to provide security during the annual U.N. meetings.
"He's creating a large line of division," Langworthy said. "New York is one of the largest Jewish cultural centers in America, and he is the first leader of this city to ever go in the direction of normalizing antisemitic behavior."
The congressman also criticized Mamdani's support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and referenced social media activity by Mamdani's spouse following Hamas terrorists' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
"Unfortunately, elections have consequences," Langworthy said. "Sadly, we have a mayor that's leading the way on it rather than trying to tone it down and fight back against it."
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