Inna Vernikov is a Ukrainian-born American lawyer and politician, serving as the minority whip of the New York City Council, where she proudly represents the 48th District. Ms. Vernikov is one of six Republicans on the council, who flipped a seat that has been traditionally Democratic for more than one hundred years.
Prior to running for office, Councilwoman Vernikov was the proud owner of an immigration and matrimonial law practice, where she zealously and successfully represented hundreds of clients.
In 2021, seeing the chaos at both local and national levels, she ran for office to bring about change. Focusing her attention on rising crime, unreasonable mandates, and the recent migrant crisis, Councilwoman Vernikov plays an important role in bringing common sense into city government. Since entering her current role, Councilwoman Vernikov has become a leading voice against Antisemitism; making waves by bringing stories of antisemitic assaults to the national and international stage, assuring victims of antisemitic hate crimes face consequences, defunding CUNY school of law, and exposing CUNY’s antisemitism by holding an unprecedented hearing in the council.
Prior to running for office, Councilwoman Vernikov was the proud owner of an immigration and matrimonial law practice, where she zealously and successfully represented hundreds of clients.
In 2021, seeing the chaos at both local and national levels, she ran for office to bring about change. Focusing her attention on rising crime, unreasonable mandates, and the recent migrant crisis, Councilwoman Vernikov plays an important role in bringing common sense into city government. Since entering her current role, Councilwoman Vernikov has become a leading voice against Antisemitism; making waves by bringing stories of antisemitic assaults to the national and international stage, assuring victims of antisemitic hate crimes face consequences, defunding CUNY school of law, and exposing CUNY’s antisemitism by holding an unprecedented hearing in the council.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a podcast from WOR.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Here again is Larry Menti with the WOR Saturday Morning show,
Welcome Back. Zora and Mamdani made the bold threat on
the debate stage that he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin net Yahoo if he dared step foot in New
York City. A New York City councilwoman, Ina Wernikov is
(00:24):
testing that threat by inviting the prime minister to come
to town. Here's the councilwoman. It's great to talk to you.
This is the first time we've had you on the show.
I'm glad. I'm glad to finally meet you over the air.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Good morning, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, tell us about your idea when it comes to
net Yahoo.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Look, this radical Marxist Zora Mamdanison to be mayor of
New York City. He's very soon going to realize that
money for free buses doesn't grow on trees and that
he can't just arrest foreign diplomats. And I decided to
invite Bib Nataniaho. He is the sitting Prime Minister of Israel.
(01:05):
No matter whether people like him or not or like
his policies, he is elected democratically elected to be the
prime minister, and the mayor of New York City has
no authority or jurisdiction to arrest a sitting prime minister.
And so I wanted to give Zorn Mamdani a little
gift and invite Bib on his first day in office
(01:26):
and to show him that, you know, he can't just
do anything he feels like. And I think that, you know,
when BB does come, we will see that a lot
of the things that Mamdani wants to do he just can't.
And we thought that with his free buses idea. Now
we're going to see it with Bib Nataniaho and we're
going to see it with a lot of things. Yeah,
I'm very excited.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I didn't expect him to be exposed this early, but
he was with the free buses when Kathy Hochel said,
uh no, we can't do that. I wish he would
have said that during the campaign so we could have
been warned and it would shown all the false promises.
Let's talk about that in a second, though. I want
to get back to your invitation. Have you sent it
and if you haven't sent it yet, how do you
(02:10):
plan on sending it?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I absolutely sent it. It was sent and it was received,
and I'm not going to comment on whether or not
it was responded to, but I can tell you that
I am very optimistic that in the very near future
we will see bb in New York City. He will
be welcomed here with open arms. The Jewish community is
very excited to have him here. It's going to be
(02:33):
a very great showing of support for the Jewish community.
And you know, symbolically, the Jewish community and Israel and
America stands with Israel. New York City stands with Israel,
and no radicals is going to no radical is going
to change that.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
You know. I respect you saying you didn't want to
share if you've gotten a response yet, but I don't
understand the reasoning. Why would you do that?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Well, I think, look, I think we're going to see
the Prime Minister here in New York. I can't tell
you one, but I think it's gonna happen. It's gonna
be great.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
That's great. So I'm gonna drop it from there. But
I'm going to assume that that means you've got some
kind of response, and that's that is wonderful. How do
you see this if it were to happen play out.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Oh, I think he's gonna come to New York. We're
gonna welcome him. He's gonna meet with the Jewish community,
he's gonna meet with other leaders. Mayor Eric Adams is
actually planning to go to Israel this weekend, so he's
gonna be there. He's still the sitting mayor. And I
think that this radical minority is not gonna matter, and
we're gonna it's gonna be great.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
This is brilliant on your part. And let me tell
you why. I think you already know this, But let
me tell everybody that's listening as well. This is brilliant
on your part because it's going to expose him. It
will absolutely expose him. I think people forget about the
anti Semitic comments. Obviously did because they voted him into office.
People forget how dangerous he is when it comes to
the Youlish community. You're putting this right in his face.
(04:03):
He has to react somehow, and his reaction.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
He I think he already was exposed. He already reacted.
A reporter asked him, I think it was yesterday. We
actually posted it last night. They asked him about you
know a council member inviting him inviting the Prime Minister
to his inauguration, and his response was any foreign leader
is free to travel. So what happened to his campaign promise?
(04:28):
He has done this right, This is one of his
campaign promises. And don't think that it wasn't important to
his constituents who voted for him, because right as soon
as he got elected, he got a memo from the
DSA listing all the demands from the DSi And guess
what majority of those demands have to do with Israel.
(04:49):
What is the city mayor of New York City has
to do with Israel? You know this is he's gonna
be the mayor of New York City. He has to
govern the city. He has to think about policing, he
has to think about local issues. But he is so
hyper focused on Israel. And I think I think it's
going to really you know, we're going to see how
that's going to turn out for him. But I think
(05:11):
it's going to be embarrassed.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I think he's embarrassed already. In one by one, everything
that he was promised is being knocked away. I didn't
think it was going to be this early. But free
buses he can't do. He can't arrest Benjamin Nenyahu. All
these things he said to get votes, he can't do,
and we're going to find out more of them as
we go along. Free childcare, all the free things he
said he was going to do, he's not going to
(05:33):
be able to do. And I think that I actually
think that's great for the city that he's not.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Able to do it in Yeah, And I mean that's
also why, you know, besides the fact that of course
we want to welcome the Prime Minister here, but that's
also why I did this, just to show that he
you know, kind of to calm detensions. People have a
lot of anxiety about this guy becoming mayor of New
York City, especially the Jewish community. But I think a
lot of people who didn't vote for him and ran
(05:59):
to the to vote the other way. And I think
this is going to be a great testament to the
fact that he cannot accomplish at least half of the
things that he's promised. You know, he can't disproportionately tax
white neighborhoods. He can't completely defund and dismantle the police,
he can't completely control go through stores. You know, we
(06:21):
don't want this government overreach here. We don't want socialism here,
and there's going to be a lot of pushback, and
so I'm actually very excited that he's not going to
be able to fulfill his agenda. And I'm excited to
be part of that pushback and I am not going
to stop.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Good for you, You've already exposed him as a liar. You've
already been successful. The fact that he had to admit
that he can't arrest him. That's that's two things that
have come up. The free buses and arresting Benjamin Netanyahu.
We're already learning he can't do them. I can't wait
for a long list because I think everything he said
he was going to do will be horrible for the city.
(06:57):
So wonderful job. You're a hero. Thanks so much, counselwoman
for talking to us. Would love to have you back.
New York City Councilwoman Ina Vernikoff. This has been a
podcast from wor
This is a podcast from WOR.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Here again is Larry Menti with the WOR Saturday Morning show,
Welcome Back. Zora and Mamdani made the bold threat on
the debate stage that he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin net Yahoo if he dared step foot in New
York City. A New York City councilwoman, Ina Wernikov is
(00:24):
testing that threat by inviting the prime minister to come
to town. Here's the councilwoman. It's great to talk to you.
This is the first time we've had you on the show.
I'm glad. I'm glad to finally meet you over the air.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Good morning, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, tell us about your idea when it comes to
net Yahoo.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Look, this radical Marxist Zora Mamdanison to be mayor of
New York City. He's very soon going to realize that
money for free buses doesn't grow on trees and that
he can't just arrest foreign diplomats. And I decided to
invite Bib Nataniaho. He is the sitting Prime Minister of Israel.
(01:05):
No matter whether people like him or not or like
his policies, he is elected democratically elected to be the
prime minister, and the mayor of New York City has
no authority or jurisdiction to arrest a sitting prime minister.
And so I wanted to give Zorn Mamdani a little
gift and invite Bib on his first day in office
(01:26):
and to show him that, you know, he can't just
do anything he feels like. And I think that, you know,
when BB does come, we will see that a lot
of the things that Mamdani wants to do he just can't.
And we thought that with his free buses idea. Now
we're going to see it with Bib Nataniaho and we're
going to see it with a lot of things. Yeah,
I'm very excited.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I didn't expect him to be exposed this early, but
he was with the free buses when Kathy Hochel said,
uh no, we can't do that. I wish he would
have said that during the campaign so we could have
been warned and it would shown all the false promises.
Let's talk about that in a second, though. I want
to get back to your invitation. Have you sent it
and if you haven't sent it yet, how do you
(02:10):
plan on sending it?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I absolutely sent it. It was sent and it was received,
and I'm not going to comment on whether or not
it was responded to, but I can tell you that
I am very optimistic that in the very near future
we will see bb in New York City. He will
be welcomed here with open arms. The Jewish community is
very excited to have him here. It's going to be
(02:33):
a very great showing of support for the Jewish community.
And you know, symbolically, the Jewish community and Israel and
America stands with Israel. New York City stands with Israel,
and no radicals is going to no radical is going
to change that.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
You know. I respect you saying you didn't want to
share if you've gotten a response yet, but I don't
understand the reasoning. Why would you do that?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Well, I think, look, I think we're going to see
the Prime Minister here in New York. I can't tell
you one, but I think it's gonna happen. It's gonna
be great.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
That's great. So I'm gonna drop it from there. But
I'm going to assume that that means you've got some
kind of response, and that's that is wonderful. How do
you see this if it were to happen play out.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Oh, I think he's gonna come to New York. We're
gonna welcome him. He's gonna meet with the Jewish community,
he's gonna meet with other leaders. Mayor Eric Adams is
actually planning to go to Israel this weekend, so he's
gonna be there. He's still the sitting mayor. And I
think that this radical minority is not gonna matter, and
we're gonna it's gonna be great.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
This is brilliant on your part. And let me tell
you why. I think you already know this, But let
me tell everybody that's listening as well. This is brilliant
on your part because it's going to expose him. It
will absolutely expose him. I think people forget about the
anti Semitic comments. Obviously did because they voted him into office.
People forget how dangerous he is when it comes to
the Youlish community. You're putting this right in his face.
(04:03):
He has to react somehow, and his reaction.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
He I think he already was exposed. He already reacted.
A reporter asked him, I think it was yesterday. We
actually posted it last night. They asked him about you
know a council member inviting him inviting the Prime Minister
to his inauguration, and his response was any foreign leader
is free to travel. So what happened to his campaign promise?
(04:28):
He has done this right, This is one of his
campaign promises. And don't think that it wasn't important to
his constituents who voted for him, because right as soon
as he got elected, he got a memo from the
DSA listing all the demands from the DSi And guess
what majority of those demands have to do with Israel.
(04:49):
What is the city mayor of New York City has
to do with Israel? You know this is he's gonna
be the mayor of New York City. He has to
govern the city. He has to think about policing, he
has to think about local issues. But he is so
hyper focused on Israel. And I think I think it's
going to really you know, we're going to see how
that's going to turn out for him. But I think
(05:11):
it's going to be embarrassed.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I think he's embarrassed already. In one by one, everything
that he was promised is being knocked away. I didn't
think it was going to be this early. But free
buses he can't do. He can't arrest Benjamin Nenyahu. All
these things he said to get votes, he can't do,
and we're going to find out more of them as
we go along. Free childcare, all the free things he
said he was going to do, he's not going to
(05:33):
be able to do. And I think that I actually
think that's great for the city that he's not.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Able to do it in Yeah, And I mean that's
also why, you know, besides the fact that of course
we want to welcome the Prime Minister here, but that's
also why I did this, just to show that he
you know, kind of to calm detensions. People have a
lot of anxiety about this guy becoming mayor of New
York City, especially the Jewish community. But I think a
lot of people who didn't vote for him and ran
(05:59):
to the to vote the other way. And I think
this is going to be a great testament to the
fact that he cannot accomplish at least half of the
things that he's promised. You know, he can't disproportionately tax
white neighborhoods. He can't completely defund and dismantle the police,
he can't completely control go through stores. You know, we
(06:21):
don't want this government overreach here. We don't want socialism here,
and there's going to be a lot of pushback, and
so I'm actually very excited that he's not going to
be able to fulfill his agenda. And I'm excited to
be part of that pushback and I am not going
to stop.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Good for you, You've already exposed him as a liar. You've
already been successful. The fact that he had to admit
that he can't arrest him. That's that's two things that
have come up. The free buses and arresting Benjamin Netanyahu.
We're already learning he can't do them. I can't wait
for a long list because I think everything he said
he was going to do will be horrible for the city.
(06:57):
So wonderful job. You're a hero. Thanks so much, counselwoman
for talking to us. Would love to have you back.
New York City Councilwoman Ina Vernikoff. This has been a
podcast from wor
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