Israeli UN ambassador criticizes Mamdani as too ‘clever’ for his own good: ‘You cannot set the fire, then say this’

Israel’s UN ambassador Friday slammed socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani for fanning the flames of anti-Israel sentiment before next week’s General Assembly meeting — only to now act as if he never did.

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Ambassador Danny Danon said in a sitdown with The Post that Hizzoner is “clever” — but can’t walk back his call to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the high-stakes UN meeting and then protest if that doesn’t happen.

“He’s very clever, but you cannot set the fire, then say this,” Danon said, referring to Mamdani’s recent attempt to backtrack after encouraging people to hit the streets.

Mamdani claimed he “never encouraged” anyone to protest when Netanyahu arrives in Manhattan on Wednesday, even after urging anti-Israel agitators to demonstrate if he failed to collar the PM upon arrival.

Mamdani, pressed July 22 on his backup plan if an arrest fell through, responded, “I think one of the bedrocks of our city is protest.”

Danon noted, “A few months before the UN General Assembly, he actually brought this idea to the floor.

“He actually set the fire by saying, ‘I will not allow [Netanyahu], he will be arrested,’ blah, blah, blah, blah.”

While anti-Israel agitators plan to target Israel’s UN delegation, Danon noted counterprotests are already brewing against Mamdani.

“The mayor has called for demonstrations. So we don’t know what to expect,” Danon told The Post.

“So far, though, I have seen, actually, demonstrations from the other side against the mayor.”

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About 150 people gathered outside the mayor’s home at Gracie Mansion in Manhattan on Friday to protest his alleged divisiveness.

Massive demonstrations previously rocked Manhattan and the UN during Netanyahu’s address in 2025.

Danon dismissed Mamdani’s sudden supposed change of heart as “too little, too late,” emphasizing that the mayor’s job is to ensure safety and welcome world leaders.

“I think the mayor maybe now is trying to amend the mistake. It’s too little, too late,” Danon said.

“He should have said from the beginning: Everyone is welcome to New York. We want you to feel safe in New York. That’s the responsibility of the mayor, not to say, ‘I don’t like Israel, and the prime minister should be arrested.”

Danon also lashed out at Mamdani during a press conference Thursday — calling for his arrest ahead Netanyahu’s planned visit to next week.

“[He made] this ridiculous claim that he can or he should arrest the prime minister,” Danon said, according to C-SPAN footage.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu will proudly address the General Assembly. He will do so despite threats, incitement and antisemitic rhetoric we have heard from the mayor of the city of New York,” he said, according to footage posted by Jewish Insider.

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The mayor’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.