Netanyahu defends Israel's actions in region as delegates walk out before UNGA address

NEW YORK: Pri­me Minister Benjamin Netan­yahu mounted a forceful defence of Israel’s actions in the region at the UN on Thursday, seeking to coun­ter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates walked out and hundreds of protesters gathered outside to challenge his narrative. The walkout undersco­red the competing pressu­res facing Netanyahu, who is battling mounting criticism abroad over the Gaza conflict while campaigning for re-election at home ahead of an October 27 vote. On Thursday, Netanyahu delivered a combative address inside the General Assembly, where dozens of delegations walked out as he began speaking.

The departing diplomats left large sections of the hall empty, creating a striking contrast with Netanyahu’s attempt to use the podium to present Israel’s case before the international community. Netanyahu responded by accusing his critics of hypocrisy and calling them “moral cowards.” He rejected allegations that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, saying Israel had prevented rather than committed genocide. He defended the country’s military actions in Gaza and elsewhere in the region.

Delegates walk out of the General Assembly hall as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to address the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 24. — Reuters

He also devoted a significant part of his speech to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling him “the antisemitic mayor of New York” and accusing him of spreading what Netanyahu described as lies about Israel. Mamdani, who had declined to join the street protests, responded after the speech. “Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitise his genocide of Palestinians,” Mamdani said. “No lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Mamdani previously said New York City lacked the authority to enforce the ICC warrant against Netanyahu, arguing that the appropriate authorities should carry it out. On Wednesday night, the mayor had hosted Palestinian families from Gaza at Gracie Mansion and planted an olive tree with them, saying: “May peace be our future.”

The two scenes — protesters confronting his government’s policies on the streets and diplomats leaving the hall during his address — turned Netanyahu’s brief visit to New York into a day of parallel confrontation. Netanyahu’s stay had already been sharply shortened amid security concerns and expectations of protests. He arrived on Thursday morning, addressed the General Assembly and was scheduled to return to Israel the same evening rather than remain in New York overnight. Outside the UN, Jewish and Muslim activists, Palestinian supporters, human-rights campaigners, progressive Jewish groups, politicians, artists and musicians took part in separate demonstrations across Manhattan. Their messages varied, but opposition to Netanyahu’s government and Israel’s conduct of the Gaza war brought many of them into the streets at the same time.

Demonstrators protest after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations 81st General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 24. — Reuters

The protests also offered a visible glimpse of a generational shift in American attitudes toward Israel and Netanyahu. While support for Israel remains stronger among older Americans, younger Americans have become substantially more critical of the Israeli government. A Pew Research Centre survey conducted in May found that only 18 per cent of Americans aged 18 to 29 had a favourable view of the Israeli government, compared with 47pc among those aged 65 and older. Among the youngest Americans, 58pc expressed a favourable view of Palestinians, compared with 47pc among those 65 and older. That generational divide was visible on the streets of New York, where many of the demonstrators were young people, including students, activists, artists and younger politicians. The largest direct action outside the UN was organised by Jewish Voice for Peace, whose New York chapter brought hundreds of protesters to First Avenue and 39th Street. Demonstrators wearing matching white T-shirts sat in the roadway, chanting against Netanyahu and calling for an end to US support for Israel. For a while, protesters stood and sat in the street, linking arms and blocking traffic as police moved in to clear the roadway. The chants continued as officers began making arrests. At least 30 people, including actors and politicians, were arrested in the initial action. Police later said more than 100 protesters had been taken into custody. Among those detained were actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder, congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and City Council member Chi Ossé. Musicians Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus and actor Elliott Page were also among the prominent figures taking part in the protests. Chelsea Manning, who joined the protest, said people outside government institutions needed ways to reject policies they regarded as imperialism, ethnic cleansing and genocide. “We can’t be in there. This is the closest that we can get,” she said. Manijeh Moradian, a university professor of Iranian and Jewish heritage who participated in the demonstration, said protesters had a responsibility to speak out against what was happening in Gaza with US support. Jewish groups divided The demonstrations also highlighted divisions within New York’s Jewish community. Progressive Jewish organisations, including New York Jewish Agenda, T’ruah, J Street, New Jewish Narrative, New Israel Fund and Partners for Progressive Israel, held a separate protest at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza near the UN. “We are gathered here as American Jews, Israelis, New Yorkers, to say: You are not welcome here,” said Margo Hughes-Robinson, executive director of New York Jewish Agenda. T’ruah, a rabbinic human-rights organisation, called for a ceasefire and accountability for alleged war crimes. The organisers described their rally as an alternative for Jewish New Yorkers who opposed Netanyahu’s policies while retaining concern for Israel and Jewish security. They were confronted by pro-Netanyahu counter-protesters who blew whistles, used megaphones, chanted “Bibi”, and sang Israel’s national anthem. On the other side, the ultra-Orthodox anti-Zionist group Neturei Karta also demonstrated, arguing that opposition to Israel could not automatically be equated with antisemitism. Elsewhere, Jewish and Muslim demonstrators marched together towards the UN, while Palestinian activists and other organisations joined the broader mobilisation against Netanyahu. A city divided over Israel and Gaza As police loaded detained protesters onto buses outside the UN, Netanyahu was speaking inside a building protected by heavy security. Outside, demonstrators sought to challenge the Israeli prime minister’s account of the Gaza war; inside, diplomats expressed their opposition by leaving the chamber. The contrast was difficult to miss. For several hours on Thursday, New York’s streets and the UN General Assembly hall became parallel stages for the same international argument — one expressed through demonstrations and arrests outside, the other through a diplomatic boycott inside. And beneath both scenes was a changing American debate over Israel.