As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel delivered his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday morning, a significant number of protesters took to the streets of New York City, directing their message towards both Mr. Netanyahu and the global community.
The demonstrations kicked off early in Times Square, located across town from the United Nations headquarters. Amidst a flurry of Palestinian flags, many young protesters held signs with powerful messages such such as “End All U.S. Aid to Israel,” “Arrest Netanyahu,” and “Stop Starving Gaza Now!”
A palpable energy surged through the crowd as organizers announced that numerous heads of state had staged a walkout during Mr. Netanyahu’s speech at the General Assembly. The protesters responded with a unified chant: “Netanyahu you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!”
By approximately 10:15 a.m., after Mr. Netanyahu had concluded his address, the protest group swelled to about 2,000 individuals, according to police estimates. The demonstrators moved to fill 42nd Street, New York City’s prominent thoroughfare, then proceeded uptown, leading to the closure of several blocks of Sixth Avenue.
Beyond their direct condemnation of Mr. Netanyahu, the protesters also voiced strong objections to America’s ongoing support of Israel. David Robinson, 64, from Brooklyn, expressed his profound frustration: “Trump administration officials don’t care about the death of brown people who are Palestinians and they’re not considered human beings. We are watching this going on. It breaks my heart. And I don’t know why everybody isn’t here.”
Earlier, on Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu’s arrival in New York was also met with protests. A late-night demonstration near his Upper East Side hotel, the Loews Regency, led to 14 arrests for unreasonable noise as part of a “No Sleep for Netanyahu” event.
This event is part of a broader trend of demonstrations across U.S. college campuses and major cities, protesting the Israeli government and advocating for Palestinian rights amidst the ongoing siege of Gaza. Following Hamas’s 2023 attack, the conflict has resulted in over 60,000 Palestinian casualties, according to Gazan health officials, with widespread starvation reported and intense bombing flattening parts of Gaza City.
Interestingly, a recent poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena University revealed shifting sentiments in New York City. In a city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel, only 26 percent of registered voters expressed greater sympathy for Israel compared to Palestinians, while 44 percent reported more sympathy for Palestinians.
Charles Hamlin, 63, who traveled from New Orleans to join the march, lamented the perceived inaction: “I just am so frustrated with the apathy of Americans — putting on blinders, choosing to be willfully ignorant to feel not complicit in the situation,” he said.
Mr. Hamlin further noted that Mr. Netanyahu has been charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes, arguing that the prime minister “should not be able to come to New York City and lobby the U.N., Congress or anyone else to try to stave off the two-state solution or try to stave off a cease-fire.”
Some demonstrators also directed their anger toward New York’s mayor, Eric Adams, who attended Mr. Netanyahu’s speech even as dozens of heads of state walked out.
Aaron Kirshenbaum, 24, of Brooklyn, called it “absolutely egregious” that Mayor Adams permitted Mr. Netanyahu to enter New York. Notably, the leading candidate in the upcoming November mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, has publicly stated his intention to uphold the International Criminal Court’s warrant and would order Mr. Netanyahu’s arrest if he were to be in the city.
At Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, a park directly opposite the U.N., a small contingent of pro-Israel counterprotesters, waving Israeli and American flags, encountered a handful of pro-Palestine demonstrators. Officers stood between the two groups as they exchanged heated words.
Following the main protest, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who recently suggested to the General Assembly that an international force be assembled to aid Palestine’s liberation, spoke to the gathered demonstrators in the plaza.
President Petro highlighted a critical moment from the previous week, noting that the United States had vetoed a resolution in the U.N. Security Council for the sixth time, one that called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. This action, he stated, marked the end of diplomacy.
“Human history has shown us throughout millennia that when diplomacy is finished, we must move on to another phase of the struggle,” Mr. Petro concluded.