The subject of Israel has repeatedly encroached on New York City’s mayoral race. Now, the country’s prime minister is also weighing in.
Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the Democratic candidate, Zohran Mamdani, in an appearance on the “Full Send Podcast” with the Nelk Boys published on Monday. The Canadian-American influencer group is known for their viral pranks as well as their promotion of right-wing figures and causes, winning them a large following of young conservative men.
After drawing criticism for hosting Netanyahu, the Nelk Boys — who visited Israel in 2023 — invited a host of streamers with records of antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric to join them online.
Their discussion with Netanyahu covered his affinity for Donald Trump, Israel’s two-year war against Hamas in Gaza and antisemitism in the United States. It was conducted by two leading members of the group, Kyle Forgeard and Aaron Steinberg, who has said his grandparents were Holocaust survivors.
They also discussed New York City’s mayor’s race, where the front-runner, Mamdani, has faced allegations of antisemitism for refusing to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and supporting a boycott of Israel.
Steinberg asked Netanyahu how an “antisemitic guy,” referring to Mamdani, was able to capture an upset win in New York’s Democratic primary.
Netanyahu responded, “A lot of people have been taken in by this nonsense,” claiming that voters were seduced by Mamdani’s efforts to “defund the police.” (Although Mamdani supported police budget cuts during his 2020 campaign for state assembly, his mayoral campaign has not proposed defunding, but rather shifting police resources toward major crimes and keeping the force at the same headcount.)
Netanyahu also slammed Mamdani’s plan to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers, saying he would “crush all enterprise” and “tax people to death.”
“Sometimes you have to get mugged by reality to understand how stupid that is,” he said.
Mamdani has said that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza and that as mayor, he would have Netanyahu arrested if the prime minister visited New York. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last year, accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity, though countries that are not party to the treaty that created the court, including the United States, are not obligated to abide by it.
Mamdani’s criticism of Israel has become a central topic in the mayoral race, and one that divides Jewish voters. Two of his opponents, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, are running as independents and making overtures to Jewish New Yorkers, who constitute about 13% of voters in the city.
The Nelk Boys drew sharp criticism from many of their followers, who number in the millions across various platforms, for interviewing Netanyahu during his trip to Washington, D.C., earlier this month. “Imagine asking someone about their burger preference while, as you speak, they’re starving a million people,” one commenter wrote on Monday. “Holy s–t the level of dystopia is unreal.”
The podcasters then streamed jointly with a number of personalities who have been harshly critical of Israel and Netanyahu, including Hasan Piker; Nick Fuentes, an avowed white supremacist and Holocaust denier; and Sneako, who recently shared cigars with Adams on the patio of Gracie Mansion. Sneako told the podcasters that he believed it was inappropriate to host Netanyahu.
Responding to Piker’s charge that the Nelk Boys were “humanizing” Netanyahu by having him on, Forgeard said, “We’ll have anyone on. Like next episode, we’re going to have someone on with the complete opposite ideology.”
