Much has been said of N.Y. Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Israel and antisemitic statements during the mayoral campaign – and rightfully so. Denying Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, advocating for BDS, consistently using the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s military actions in Gaza, and oddly blaming Israel for alleged police brutality in N.Y.C. were, and still are, alarming going forward.
And together with his pie-in-the-sky irrational economic plan – and choice of a sycophantic staff that agrees with his fantasies – everything seems to point to someone who puts ideology ahead of fact, or the paradigmatic performative politician eager to play to his base.
But it is his persistence in saying that, as mayor, he would order the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu, citing that notorious International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Netanyahu, that is looming almost as ominous.
The prevailing opinion among legal experts is that, as mayor, Mamdani would lack the authority to order an arrest and any attempt to do so would be a legal and practical impossibility. The principal arguments against his authority are straightforward.
The U.S. Constitution grants the federal government exclusive authority over foreign relations and the treatment of foreign nationals within U.S. territory. State or local interference is unconstitutional and would likely be overturned by the federal courts.
In addition, the U.S. is not a member of the ICC and doesn’t recognize its jurisdiction over non-member states or their officials.
Also, enforcement of international warrants falls under federal jurisdiction, not state or local authority. State and local officials lack the power to act on behalf of international judicial bodies.
Further, there is the doctrine of sovereign immunity. That is, international law generally grants sitting heads of state immunity from prosecution in foreign courts.
Moreover, even if a state or local official attempted an arrest, the U.S. government would not facilitate extradition, and without government assistance, the logistics of transferring an individual from U.S. soil to The Hague would be insurmountable without federal cooperation.
So, in vowing to arrest Israel’s Prime Minister on the strength of an ICC warrant is Mamdani just engaging in wishful thinking. He is either blinded by Islamic ideology or just playing to his Islamic base, telling them what they want to hear. Neither commends him as a leader ready to make the hard decisions needed for effective leadership.