New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has faced mockery online after appearing to soften his previous stance on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, having once said he would have him arrested if he visited New York City. Critics highlighted the apparent reversal as evidence of political inconsistency, with the shift coming as Mamdani instead directed his call for action towards US federal authorities rather than pledging to act unilaterally himself.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won the New York mayoral race, had previously drawn attention for vowing to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu should the Israeli leader set foot in the city, a warrant issued over the Gaza conflict. Commentators and critics seized on the change in tone as a climbdown, framing it as Mamdani appealing to federal officials rather than standing by his earlier hardline position, feeding into wider scrutiny of his positions on Israel since taking office.