Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly on September 24 as dozens of delegates walked out of the chamber and thousands of New Yorkers took to the streets to protest his visit.
During his speech, Netanyahu defended Israeli military aggression throughout the Middle East, including the Zionist campaign to forcibly relocate, starve, and exterminate Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; the Israeli invasion of Lebanon; and the US-Zionist war against Iran. He also condemned the armed national liberation struggles of the Palestinian National Resistance, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ansarallah in Yemen, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Netanyahu’s speech took place against the backdrop of US and Israeli forces’ complete failure to meet their military objectives in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East. Ten days earlier, the US Department of War Inspector General released a report showing that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of structures at US military bases throughout the Middle East during the first months of the war.
Despite campaign promises to arrest Netanyahu if he set foot in New York City, NYC Mayor and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Zohran Mamdani took no action to disrupt Netanyahu’s genocidal ravings. Weeks before Netanyahu’s arrival, the Mayor’s Office released a video in which Mamdani walked back his campaign promise to arrest Netanyahu, saying he did not have the legal authority to do so.
At a press conference, Mamdani said he would not participate in demonstrations against Netanyahu’s UN speech or encourage New Yorkers to protest, but would respect their right to do so.
Under Mamdani’s leadership, the New York Police Department (NYPD) established a heavily-fortified perimeter around the UN Headquarters and closed several city blocks during Netanyahu’s visit.
The NYPD also deployed its Strategic Response Group (SRG), a specialized citywide “counterterrorism” police unit, around the UN. The unit is notorious for brutalizing and repressing protesters, including during the May Uprisings sparked by the police murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the Palestinian solidarity movement student encampments in 2024. Mamdani had campaigned on disbanding the unit.
During Netanyahu’s speech, hundreds of celebrity activists led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) staged a sit-in near the UN. JVP did not publicly announce the action beforehand. The participants included DSA-aligned Democrat mafia politicians, activists, and media personalities, such as DSA-endorsed Democratic nominee for New York’s 13th congressional district Darializa Avila Chevalier, DSA-affiliated New York City Council member Chi Osse, former NYC Comptroller and DSA-allied Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th congressional district Brad Lander (who openly supports Israel), and NYC DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo.
The opportunists knelt in the street wearing matching white shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Fund People Not Bombs,” a conservative anti-war slogan akin to the reactionary populist rhetoric used by imperialist politicians such as Trump.
After permitting the demonstration for roughly an hour, the NYPD issued a dispersal order and arrested more than 100 participants. Police said the protesters were blocking traffic and had been instructed to disperse before officers made arrests. Those arrested were issued summonses for disorderly conduct and released.
The arrested politicians did not condemn the Mamdani administration or NYPD. Instead, they publicized their arrests on social media, and candidates currently running for office used the arrests to promote their campaigns and fundraising efforts.
Afterwards, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) held a march toward the UN Headquarters with thousands of participants. The march was scheduled for after Netanyahu’s speech was set to conclude, and the prime minister had already left the UN Headquarters by the time the march began.
Image: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in Jerusalem, Israel, 2020. Credit: State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha.
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