Danon rejects Mamdani's war criminal label on Netanyahu

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon strongly criticized a statement issued Wednesday by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In it the mayor branded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and blamed him for an alleged genocide against Palestinians.

Danon responded directly: Enough with these false accusations and assaults on Jewish groups. Mamdani was chosen to represent New York residents, not to echo Hamas messaging. Focus on the job at hand.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett also rejected the mayor's comments, saying Mamdani had aligned himself with those who reject the events of October 7 and backed Hamas after the attacks.

Bennett noted that Mamdani failed to reference Hamas when describing Israel's operations in Gaza following the October 7 massacre.

Since that date Israel has waged a justified campaign against a terror group that killed children before their parents and parents before their children, injured many, abducted hostages, and employed sexual violence, Bennett wrote. The absence of any mention of those acts speaks volumes.

Bennett urged Mamdani to pursue his goals without targeting Jews or faulting Israel for protecting its citizens.

Eisenkot calls statement pure antisemitism lacking any facts

Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot termed Mamdani's words dangerous and inflammatory, describing them as pure antisemitism with no factual support.

In the presence of terrorism and extreme hatred, which New York experienced on September 11, truth must stand firm, he said.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a deadly assault on Israeli civilians that ranks as the worst act of terrorism and antisemitic violence since the Holocaust, Eisenkot stated.

He condemned the mayor's twisting of events, noting that history cannot be altered to portray the attacker as the victim.

Nothing hides the crimes this terror group committed against civilians inside their homes, he added. Israel will not permit anyone to challenge its people's right to security in their homeland.

Eisenkot defended the IDF, stressing that it follows strict ethical standards and international law while pursuing a just cause, and that attempts to place it on equal footing with terrorists are unacceptable.