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New York City law enforcement officials are preparing for an extensive security operation ahead of Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu’s visit to the United Nations next month, with police sources arguing that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s repeated criticism of the Israeli leader has heightened tensions and increased potential risks for officers and the public, the New York Post reports.

According to law enforcement officials who spoke to the New York Post, Netanyahu’s trip will require a security operation comparable to the protection provided for a visiting head of state. The sources contend that Mamdani’s public statements against Netanyahu have energized radical demonstrators and made an already challenging assignment significantly more difficult.

“Basically, he’s making what would be considered a Category 1 hurricane that we deal with every year into a Category 5 because of his words,” a law enforcement source said.

Mamdani has consistently voiced strong support for the Palestinian cause and has sharply criticized Israel. During his 2025 mayoral campaign, he called for Netanyahu’s arrest, and he repeated that position last month before acknowledging that the NYPD lacks the legal authority to carry out such an arrest.

The mayor also encouraged demonstrations during Netanyahu’s upcoming visit, telling supporters to “take to the streets” and saying that “one of the bedrocks of our city is protest.”

Police officials said those remarks have frustrated many officers who will already be responsible for protecting the Israeli leader and other visiting dignitaries.

“We have to protect hotels, we have to protect wherever [dignitaries] go out to eat, we have to protect everything,” the law enforcement source said. “Having the mayor say, ‘Go ahead and protest, and he should be arrested’ . . . is unfair to your own cops.”

Netanyahu is expected to arrive in New York next month for the United Nations General Assembly, where he is scheduled to address delegates on Sept. 26.

While his complete itinerary has not yet been finalized, police sources estimate that his security detail could ultimately require 60 or more officers, including both direct protection personnel and supporting units.

Typically, visiting dignitaries are assigned a protection team consisting of one sergeant and eight detectives, supplemented by federal and state law enforcement as well as security personnel from the visiting nation.

“What’s going to stop one of the protesters from becoming a vigilante and trying to hurt or God forbid kill him?” the source said.

The same official also expressed concern that demonstrators who believe they are acting in line with the mayor’s message “could cause an officer to get hurt or even killed.”

Another law enforcement source pointed to the bomb discovered outside Gracie Mansion in March as evidence that the threat environment remains serious.

In that incident, authorities alleged that two Pennsylvania men inspired by ISIS attempted to detonate explosive devices during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” rally organized by a far-right activist.

The source warned that a similar terrorist attack could be attempted during Netanyahu’s visit.

“His rhetoric is reckless,” the source said of Mamdani. “It emboldens radical and unstable agitators who could put both New Yorkers and law enforcement officers in harm’s way.”

A City Hall insider also expressed concern that the mayor’s comments could contribute to heightened tensions during the visit.

“It’s very concerning,” said the insider. “I mean, [Mamdani’s] rhetoric has clearly caused this uptick in antisemitism all across our city, and now telling people to go out and protest is going to create a powder keg of a situation.

“It’s not the mayor’s job to tell people to protest and to urge them to protest,” the city government source said. “It’s likely to be very violent. And I mean, what on Earth is this accomplishing?”

“It’s completely irresponsible,” the source added.

According to NYPD statistics, antisemitic incidents accounted for 56.9% of all hate crimes reported in New York City, despite Jews making up roughly 10% of the city’s population.

Police data also show that hate crimes overall have risen 9.4% so far this year, even as each of the city’s seven major crime categories has declined.

Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro said he is concerned about the challenges facing officers assigned to protect world leaders during the United Nations gathering.

“Mayor Mamdani’s reckless rhetoric surrounding Netanyahu and his calls for protests only fan the flames — making the assignment of protecting UNGA dignitaries even more difficult,” he said in a statement.

Munro noted that many officers are still recovering from injuries sustained while policing crowds in Midtown during the NBA Finals.

“Our detectives will do their job, as they always do,” Munro said. “It’s time for the mayor to do his — stand with the city and the men and women in blue protecting it, not with those on the radical protest line.”

The NYPD emphasized that the final size and scope of Netanyahu’s security detail will be determined after a comprehensive threat assessment.

“As we do every year, the NYPD works with the Secret Service, the State Department, and other federal agencies to provide protection to foreign dignitaries traveling to NYC based on the level of threat assessed,” an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement.

A tragic accident on the Jordan River claimed the life of a 12-year-old chareidi boy from Modiin Illit on Sunday after he disappeared beneath the water when the boat he was riding in overturned near Yesod HaMa’alah. Following hours of intensive search efforts by rescue teams, the boy was located and, tragically, was pronounced dead.

The incident began after emergency dispatchers received a report that a child had fallen into the Jordan River after a boat capsized. Contact with the boy was immediately lost, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.

Fire and Rescue Services rushed specialized rescue units from the Northern District to the scene. They were joined by Israel Police, the Golan Rescue Unit, Magen David Adom, and additional emergency personnel, who launched an extensive search both in the river and along its banks.

According to Fire and Rescue Services, the operation included water searches, shoreline sweeps, and aerial surveillance using a drone that scanned the river’s course. Firefighters, members of the Galil-Golan Special Rescue Unit, and other emergency teams all participated in the effort.

Chief Superintendent Dror Buchnik, who commanded the operation, said, “Firefighters and rescuers from the Special Rescue Unit searched both in the water and along the riverbanks, while a drone scanned the course of the river. At the conclusion of the searches, the boy was located in the water, and after he was rescued, medical teams pronounced him dead.”

Magen David Adom said it received the emergency call at 2:45 p.m. through its Jordan Region dispatch center. After an extensive search, rescuers from the Golan Rescue Unit found the approximately 12-year-old boy and brought him to waiting medical teams while he was unconscious after spending an extended period underwater.

MDA paramedic Assaf Perlman and EMT Harel Levi said, “During searches for a 12-year-old boy who had gone missing in the Jordan River, the Golan Rescue Unit located the child and brought him to us unconscious after he had been under the water. We performed medical evaluations, but he showed no signs of life, and we had no choice but to pronounce him dead.”

Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to attend the 25th anniversary commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at Ground Zero despite objections from many victims’ families, a decision drawing renewed criticism after he skipped this year’s memorial service honoring those killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the NY Post reports.

Rather than attend the Feb. 26 ceremony at Ground Zero marking the 33rd anniversary of the 1993 terrorist attack, Mamdani traveled to Washington, D.C., where he met with President Donald Trump to promote a massive affordable housing proposal for New York City.

Instead of appearing at the memorial himself, Mamdani sent one of his deputy mayors to represent the administration. The mayor has also faced criticism over a photograph taken last year showing him smiling alongside a Brooklyn imam who was identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others.

On the day of the memorial, Mamdani held a private meeting with President Trump in an effort to secure more than $21 billion in federal funding for a proposed 12,000-unit affordable housing development at a large rail yard in Queens.

“Mamdani blew us off and passed on it because he does not [care],” said Andrew Colabella, whose cousin, 41-year-old John DiGiovanni, was among the six victims murdered when Islamic terrorists detonated a bomb in the World Trade Center’s underground parking garage.

“The only thing he cares about is his ego and his so-called political future,” added Colabella, a Republican legislator representing Westport, Connecticut.

Colabella and several other relatives of the 1993 bombing victims accused Mamdani of skipping the annual memorial because it did not receive significant media attention.

They also pointed out that the mayor had no hesitation visiting Ground Zero in April to welcome King Charles III, when television cameras and photographers were present.

Colabella further alleged that Mamdani used the meeting with President Trump on the housing proposal to avoid facing criticism at Ground Zero over what he described as the mayor’s “longtime association” with individuals who have defended Islamic terrorism, including political commentator Hasan Piker, who previously said “America deserved” the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Colabella said he is among more than 80,000 people who have signed a growing petition urging Mamdani not to attend the Sept. 11 ceremony at Ground Zero.

Edward Smith, whose wife, Monica Rodriguez Smith, was seven months pregnant when she was killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing at age 35, said Mamdani’s absence from the February ceremony was ultimately preferable.

“It is best he didn’t show up, but it’s even crazier that New York would elect him mayor in the first place,” said Smith, a lifelong New Yorker who now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Although Smith plans to attend this year’s Sept. 11 ceremony, he said he has chosen not to sign the petition because he believes it only “empowers” Mamdani. Instead, he suggested those who oppose the mayor’s presence should “boo him or turn their backs on him.”

Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson represented the mayor at the February memorial ceremony. Also attending were Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, FDNY First Deputy Commissioner Dan Flynn, and City Council Speaker Julie Menin.

Most New York City mayors since the 1993 bombing—including Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, and Eric Adams—have either attended at least some of the annual remembrance ceremonies personally or designated a representative to appear on their behalf.

Following his February meeting with President Trump, Mamdani described the discussion as “productive,” although the White House has not publicly commented on the meeting.

{Matzav.com}