New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters on Wednesday that he does not intend to participate in any demonstrations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance at the U.N. General Assembly next week — and maintained he did not endorse public agitation against the Jewish state’s premier, an apparent ratcheting-down of his remarks from earlier this summer.

Following an unrelated press conference, Mamdani confirmed information leaked to Politico that he would not take part in anticipated protests against Netanyahu’s scheduled arrival in New York on Sept. 23 or speech at the international summit the next day. He also stressed that he did not call for his anti-Israel allies on the left to take to the streets either.

“I do not have any plans to attend any protest at the U.N. General Assembly,” Mamdani said. “To New Yorkers I have never encouraged them to protest.”

“I do not have any plans to attend any protest at the U.N. General Assembly” against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mayor Mamdani said. “To New Yorkers I have never encouraged them to protest.”

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Yet the tone and couching of these comments differs markedly from statements in July, when a reporter pressed him on how local opponents of Netanyahu might express their feelings about his visit.

“One of the bedrocks of our city is protest,” the mayor said at the time. “I’ve always said that when we respect our Constitution, we also respect our First Amendment. And here in New York City, it’ll always be a place where you can exercise that.”

The democratic socialist, who distinguished himself in the mayoral field last year with his attacks on Israel, immediately followed those previous comments by reiterating he believed an International Criminal Court warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest should be honored. 

That statement followed a multi-day controversy in which Mamdani publicly played with an old campaign pledge that he would order the NYPD to take the Israeli prime minister into custody should he attend the U.N. General Assembly — even though subsequent reporting revealed Mamdani knew he lacked authority to do so — and then released a viral video assailing Netanyahu as a “war criminal.”

The video provoked outrage among Jewish leaders, coming amid a wave of antisemitic hate crimes in the five boroughs, and a group of liberal-leaning rabbis urged the mayor to back off his broadsides against the Jewish state during a subsequent meeting at City Hall.

On Tuesday, to repeated press questions about the prospect of protests next week, the mayor would say only he had been “very clear about my views, my thoughts, my assessments” and his earlier remarks about possible demonstrations were only affirmations of his support for the First Amendment. 

He instead pivoted to police security and traffic protocols around the event, which he and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch will elaborate upon later this week.

“My focus is ensuring that our city remains prepared to host representatives from across the world and to keep New Yorkers safe,” the mayor said. “Right now, there are no expected threats that we know of and we are, continue to be, confident in being able to deliver safety and security.”

The mayor also responded to news that two Modern Orthodox day schools — Manhattan’s Ramaz School and SAR Day School in the Bronx — would participate in a prayer demonstration outside Gracie Mansion on Friday, an action some have interpreted as a protest of the mayor’s views on Zionism. Mamdani voiced no objections to the event, but said he would likely not be at the official residence at that time.

“I welcome them,” the mayor said. “Whatever it is intended to be, they have the room and space to do so outside of Gracie Mansion. I think that at the time that they are there, I will probably be somewhere else across the city.”