Benjamin Netanyahu Allowed to Address the United Nations
Pro-Palestinian protestors wearing “Fund people, not bombs” T-shirts, performing their sit-in on First Avenue. Actor Susan Sarandon sits in the lower-center. Source: The Guardian.
During Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the Israeli Prime Minister addressed a sparse crowd. He made attempts to rationalize Israel’s transgressions over the past few years. As Netanyahu stepped up to the podium, representatives from about 70 countries rose and exited the hall, prompting him to call the delegates “moral cowards” and urge others sharing their sentiments to leave as well. Netanyahu refuses to address public criticism and rather endorses the silencing of dissent, therefore fueling the hypocrisy of the Israeli regime.
As of November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has a warrant out for the Prime Minister’s arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In retaliation for Hamas’ missile attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel has since launched a military campaign that has caused over 70,000 Palestinian deaths and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population. Under Netanyahu’s authority, Israeli missiles have sought out humanitarian zones, hospitals, schools, and journalists as victims. Who’s the “moral coward,” now?
At the UNGA, Netanyahu said that the Israeli government warned individuals by making millions of phone calls and dropping leaflets to warn Gazans of an oncoming attack. He said, “What genocidal regime enables the distribution of 2 million tons of food into Gaza?” The 11-week restriction of humanitarian aid from March through May in 2025 was also accompanied by Israel’s regulations blocking the operation of 37 NGOs in Gaza and the West Bank. The 71,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition cannot get the medical support they need, as 94% of hospitals have been either turned to rubble or severely damaged.
Furthermore, there have been 97 attacks on designated humanitarian areas between May 2024 and January 2025. These zones also lack critical infrastructure, with the majority of displaced Gazans living in tents. The Israeli phone calls and leaflets are a pathetic attempt to protect Palestinian civilians, since the humanitarian zones serve merely as false promises of safety. Gazans have no sanctuaries, trapping them in inhumane living conditions. Civilians living in tents are exposed to the elements, forced to burn trash to cook, surrounded by sewage, and suffer from an infestation of rodents.
Netanyahu’s conduct of war goes far beyond ordinary uses of power. The Israeli government could use starvation as a weapon and turn places of refuge into killing grounds—both of which are war crimes as outlined by the ICC.
However, Netanyahu was not arrested during his time at the United Nations. Demonstrators protesting Netanyahu’s presence in New York performed a sit-in on First Avenue in front of the UN Headquarters, shutting down traffic, leading to the arrest of 104 people on charges of disorderly conduct. Arrests are a form of state repression that short-term disrupts political movements. Therefore, through attempting to devolve activists against Israel into criminals, the U.S. government inherently condones the atrocities sanctioned by Netanyahu. It seems as though free speech in the United States only belongs to those with an ICC warrant.
The arrests outside the UN included Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder, New York City Councilman Chi Ossé, and New York congressional candidate Darializa Chevalier. Elected officials and award-winning entertainers are risking a criminal record. When even high-profile individuals face the consequences of protesting, the general public is alerted to the urgency. Their involvement shows how important it is for people deeply embedded in the public sphere to use their platforms to speak out against injustice. It’s harder to silence a movement once it has gained media attention and public awareness. It is extremely hypocritical that the people fighting against an urgent humanitarian crisis are the ones that law enforcement attempts to silence.
Those who showed up at the UN Headquarters in support of Netanyahu’s appearance did so in defense of Jewish people facing discrimination. Under no circumstance should anti-Semitism or the persecution of Jews be tolerated. This prejudice, though, is the Prime Minister’s framing. Netanyahu deliberately put the Jewish people at the forefront of the issue, structuring Israel’s goals around a Jewish crusade as he said, “We have no other country… we have no other choice,” and compared Hamas to Nazis. He invokes a history of suffering to defend Israel’s present-day actions. Past atrocities committed against the Jewish people cannot be used as an excuse for the brutal atrocity happening currently.
Some of the protestors were from Jewish descent. One university professor with Jewish heritage said, “What’s being done to Gaza, the obliteration of an entire society- in our name, with our tax dollars, this is our responsibility to speak out against.” While Netanyahu sits at the podium at the UNGA, using Judaism to rationalize the brutality occurring in Gaza and the West Bank, other people of Jewish heritage condemn the Prime Minister for such justifications. The Jewish identity should not be affiliated with the actions of Netanyahu’s regime.
Supporting Palestinian civilians does not mean tolerating antisemitism, just as protecting Jewish people does not require defending the Israeli government’s actions.
Ultimately, Netanyahu’s leadership must not go unquestioned. The international community, including the United States, must demand accountability for war crimes and protect humanitarian rights. Silence in the face of injustice only allows it to continue.