Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov at a demonstration against plea deals for perpetrators of hate crimes against Jews, January 27, 2023. (Facebook)
Jewish NYC councilwoman Inna Vernikov invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the city on the day of Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration.
By World Israel News Staff
A New York City politician known for her outspoken support of Israel and Jewish identity has invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the city on January 1 — the same day Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is scheduled to be sworn into office.
Inna Vernikov, a Ukrainian-born Jewish member of the New York City Council, sent a formal invitation to Netanyahu after Mamdani’s public declaration that he would have the Israeli leader arrested if he set foot in the city.
Mamdani has claimed that such an arrest would comply with an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for alleged war crimes against Netanyahu.
However, the United States does not recognize the ICC’s authority, and the court has no jurisdiction over visits by elected foreign officials to the U.S., nor does Washington have any obligation to honor the court’s arrest warrants.
“Despite the vile rhetoric of unashamed Marxist radicals like Mayor-elect Mamdani, your visit would serve as a powerful reminder that this city stands with Israel, the Jewish people, and with the principles that unite our two great nations,” Vernikov wrote to Netanyahu.
“Whether individuals agree or disagree with your policies, you are the duly elected Prime Minister of the State of Israel: a democratic nation that stands as a beacon of hope, freedom, Western values, resilience, and strength in a region surrounded by tyranny and terror,” she added.
Former Democratic state assemblyman Dov Hikind enthusiastically supported Vernikov’s invitation, telling the New York Post on Tuesday that Mamdani “is going to find out that he’s not the king.”
Hikind added, using Netanyahu’s nickname, that “Bibi will get the biggest positive reception that he’s ever gotten in New York,” and he predicted that “people who have never come out” to support Israel would do so now.
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