‘You tried to stop me, you tried to silence me…’: Netanyahu targets Zohran Mamdani, Rama Duwaji at UNGA speech
Netanyahu also mentioned social media activity by Rama Duwaji accusing her of liking posts praising the October 7 massacre and denying Israel's right to exist.
- Sep 25, 2026,
- Updated Sep 25, 2026 8:15 AM IST
Netanyahu’s UNGA speech: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his address to the UN General Assembly to criticise New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji. Netanyahu accused Mamdani of trying to stop his visit to the city, making Jews feel unsafe, and repeatedly making false claims about Israel.
“Mr Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York. They talk to me. They tell me, 'This isn't the city we remember. It changed so quickly.' You praise criminals convicted of supporting Hamas,” he said.
Netanyahu also mentioned social media activity by Duwaji accusing her of liking posts praising the October 7 massacre and denying Israel's right to exist. “Your wife liked a post praising the October 7 massacre. She liked another post saying Tel Aviv shouldn't exist. You refuse to condemn any of that,” he said.
“You falsely and repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide. Mr Mamdani, you try to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me. You can't silence the truth. And here's the simple truth. Here's a simple truth: Israel didn't commit genocide; Israel prevented genocide,” he said.
Mamdani responded quickly, accusing Netanyahu of repeating baseless lies. "As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians. Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Mamdani responded.
Meanwhile, many delegates walked out of the General Assembly hall during Netanyahu's speech. Delegations from Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority were among those who left. US and Israeli delegates applauded, and supporters chanted in Hebrew.
Netanyahu called the departing delegates "moral cowards" and invited others to leave. He then defended Israel's military actions against Iran and thanked the US President for supporting Israel in confronting Tehran.
Netanyahu’s UNGA speech: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his address to the UN General Assembly to criticise New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji. Netanyahu accused Mamdani of trying to stop his visit to the city, making Jews feel unsafe, and repeatedly making false claims about Israel.
“Mr Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York. They talk to me. They tell me, 'This isn't the city we remember. It changed so quickly.' You praise criminals convicted of supporting Hamas,” he said.
Netanyahu also mentioned social media activity by Duwaji accusing her of liking posts praising the October 7 massacre and denying Israel's right to exist. “Your wife liked a post praising the October 7 massacre. She liked another post saying Tel Aviv shouldn't exist. You refuse to condemn any of that,” he said.
“You falsely and repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide. Mr Mamdani, you try to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me. You can't silence the truth. And here's the simple truth. Here's a simple truth: Israel didn't commit genocide; Israel prevented genocide,” he said.
Mamdani responded quickly, accusing Netanyahu of repeating baseless lies. "As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians. Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Mamdani responded.
Meanwhile, many delegates walked out of the General Assembly hall during Netanyahu's speech. Delegations from Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority were among those who left. US and Israeli delegates applauded, and supporters chanted in Hebrew.
Netanyahu called the departing delegates "moral cowards" and invited others to leave. He then defended Israel's military actions against Iran and thanked the US President for supporting Israel in confronting Tehran.