By: Fern Sidman – Jewish Voice News

In an unflinching and wide-ranging interview with Australian journalist Erin Molan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed recent remarks made by Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected socialist and openly anti-Israel mayor of New York City, who declared that he would seek to have Netanyahu arrested should he set foot in the city. Speaking candidly and without hesitation, Netanyahu dismissed the threat outright, stating firmly, “No. I’m not afraid. What do you want me to say about Mamdani? What about him?”

As Israel National News reported on Thursday, Netanyahu’s remarks marked his first direct response to Mamdani’s incendiary comments, which have caused international controversy and drawn condemnation from Jewish leaders across the political spectrum. The Prime Minister, appearing composed and resolute, used the opportunity not only to refute the threat but to deliver a broader reflection on leadership, economics, and the dangers of rising antisemitism in Western societies.

Throughout the interview, Netanyahu was pointed in his warnings about antisemitism and its corrosive effect on civilization. As noted in the Israel National News report, he drew a historical parallel between the hatred of Jews and the societal disintegration that often follows such prejudice.

“Antisemitism usually collapses societies,” Netanyahu explained. “It starts with the Jews, then goes to the blacks, the gays, the Hispanics… and it just collapses societies.”

The Prime Minister’s message was both a rebuke and a warning — that the rhetoric adopted by radical political figures like Mamdani is not only harmful to Jews but also destabilizing to the very foundations of democratic society.

Netanyahu further cautioned that if New York City continues along the ideological trajectory set by its new mayor — a politician closely affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America and known for his anti-Israel activism — the city could face a “very dim future.”

“History shows us,” Netanyahu continued, according to the report at Israel National News, “that societies which embrace hatred and division ultimately collapse under their own weight.”

Netanyahu also took the opportunity to contrast his own economic philosophy with the socialist policies espoused by Mamdani. He recounted Israel’s transformation over the past three decades — from what he described as a “semi-socialist economy” to a vibrant, free-market system that has turned Israel into a global high-tech powerhouse.

“Look at Israel today,” Netanyahu said. “We moved from a semi-socialist economy to one driven by free-market reforms. We opened our markets, encouraged innovation, and empowered entrepreneurs — and now Israel is a world leader in technology and innovation.”

He contrasted this record with Mamdani’s platform, which includes proposals to freeze rents, introduce publicly owned grocery stores, and reallocate police funding toward social work programs. These policies, Netanyahu implied, would have the opposite effect of Israel’s economic success story.

“Socialism doesn’t build prosperity,” Netanyahu said. “It stifles it.”

According to the information provided in the Israel National News report, the Prime Minister’s comments reflect his longstanding belief that economic freedom and innovation are the engines of progress — a vision that has underpinned much of his domestic policy agenda since his first tenure as Prime Minister in the 1990s.

When Molan asked Netanyahu if he would be willing to meet or engage in dialogue with Mamdani, the Prime Minister’s response was as sharp as it was succinct.

“I have a lot of dialogues that I’m engaged in right now, a lot,” Netanyahu said, according to the report at Israel National News. “And I think this one — I think he should get his act together before he makes these statements.”

The remark illustrated Netanyahu’s view that Mamdani’s behavior was not only provocative but fundamentally unserious — a reflection of what he sees as a growing trend of uninformed, ideologically driven leadership.

Netanyahu also took aim at the lack of education and intellectual rigor among certain younger political leaders in the West, suggesting that idealism without understanding can quickly turn destructive.

“It’s good to be a young leader,” Netanyahu said pointedly. “But it’s not good to be a young, uneducated leader.”

According to the information contained in the Israel National News report, the Prime Minister stressed that Mamdani’s public statements — including his claim that Israel’s defensive actions constitute “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing” — display a deep ignorance of both history and economics.

“He should brush up on those subjects,” Netanyahu said. “Economics, antisemitism — these are things you have to understand before you talk about them. Otherwise, you risk misleading people and damaging society.”

As reported by Israel National News, Zohran Mamdani — a 33-year-old socialist politician of Ugandan-Indian descent — became New York City’s first openly anti-Zionist mayor after defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in a highly contentious election. His victory, powered by the Democratic Socialists of America, has been viewed as a seismic shift in the city’s political landscape.

Since taking office, Mamdani has made a series of controversial statements, including calls to end U.S. military aid to Israel and support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. He has also referred to the Israeli government as a “regime of oppression” and accused it of “war crimes” in Gaza.

Mamdani’s threat to have Netanyahu “arrested” if he entered New York City — on grounds of alleged “war crimes” — was widely condemned by Jewish organizations and political leaders. As Israel National News reported, critics called the statement “an unprecedented act of political hostility toward America’s closest democratic ally in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu’s comments during his interview with Erin Molan, therefore, serve as a direct response to Mamdani’s provocation and a defense of Israel’s legitimacy on the international stage.

Netanyahu’s remarks, as noted in the Israel National News report, come at a time of escalating antisemitism across Western capitals. In the United States, incidents of anti-Jewish hatred have surged on college campuses, at public demonstrations, and in political discourse — trends that many observers link to the normalization of anti-Israel rhetoric in left-wing circles.

The Prime Minister’s insistence that antisemitism “collapses societies” was not merely historical commentary but a pointed warning to the West. By equating the beginnings of antisemitism with the eventual unraveling of moral and civic order, Netanyahu sought to highlight the broader danger that hatred poses to democratic institutions.

As the Israel National News report noted, Netanyahu’s argument reflects his long-held belief that antisemitism is a bellwether for societal decay. When hatred of Jews is tolerated or encouraged, he contends, it is only a matter of time before other minorities — and the democratic system itself — come under attack.

In perhaps the most telling portion of his interview, Netanyahu drew a sharp distinction between leadership grounded in education, experience, and discipline and the populist activism that increasingly defines figures like Mamdani.

“Leadership is not about slogans,” Netanyahu said, as quoted in the Israel National News report. “It’s about responsibility — about understanding economics, history, and the consequences of ideas.”

He added that while he encourages open dialogue with world leaders of all political orientations, he expects those discussions to be rooted in facts and knowledge, not ideological posturing.

“I’m always open to conversation,” he said. “But it has to be a conversation based on truth. If someone is unwilling to learn, unwilling to listen, then there’s no conversation to be had.”

Netanyahu’s comments to Erin Molan reaffirm his determination to defend Israel’s interests wherever they are challenged — including in cities led by those hostile to the Jewish state.

When asked point-blank whether he felt any fear about entering New York under Mamdani’s administration, Netanyahu’s answer was immediate and unwavering: “No. I’m not afraid.”

For Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, who has navigated wars, diplomatic crises, and global media scrutiny, Mamdani’s rhetoric is unlikely to deter him. Instead, as the Israel National News report observed, Netanyahu’s tone suggests he views the controversy as emblematic of a broader ideological battle — one between the forces of democratic strength and those of divisive extremism.

In his conversation with Erin Molan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu projected the confidence of a statesman accustomed to confrontation but rooted in conviction. As reported by Israel National News, his remarks were more than a rebuttal to Zohran Mamdani’s threat — they were a statement of principle about the responsibilities of leadership, the perils of ignorance, and the enduring dangers of antisemitism.

While the ideological chasm between Jerusalem and New York’s new mayor seems unlikely to close soon, Netanyahu’s words made one point unmistakably clear: Israel’s leader will not be intimidated, and the Jewish state will not be lectured by those who misunderstand both its history and its purpose.