Arrest Netanyahu’: Israeli PM gets a New York welcome outside the UNGA
Arrest Netanyahu’: Israeli PM gets a New York welcome outside the UNGA
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a half-empty room at the UN General Assembly, thousands of protesters were gathered in Times Square to condemn his presence in New York City.
Netanyahu was issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2024, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Gaza since October 2023.
All members of the ICC, which includes the United States, are legally obliged to enforce the warrants, though Hungary, an Israeli ally, has officially begun the process of withdrawal from the ICC.
The Israeli prime minister gave a combative speech to a nearly empty UN General Assembly hall on Friday, where he portrayed himself as the standard-bearer of mainstream Israel in rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state and denouncing Israel's genocide in Gaza as “a joke”.
As Netanyahu’s speech began, dozens of world leaders and diplomats walked out of the assembly hall in protest, even as US diplomats cheered him.
Outside of the UN headquarters, protesters from across the US gathered to be a part of a march organised by several local activist groups, like the Palestinian Youth Movement and American Muslims for Palestine.
Towards the end of the "Arrest Netanyahu" protest, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and English musician Roger Waters joined in on the protest.
The last time Netanyahu was in New York, in September of last year, he reportedly approved the pager attacks in Lebanon from his hotel in Manhattan. Dozens of Lebanese were killed, and over 3,000 were injured.
Middle East Eye talked to protesters about their reasons for showing up to Times Square on Friday morning, and their message to Netanyahu - who was just across the street at the UN from their ending point at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza.
“It is enraging that Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand have been standing next to Bibi Netanyahu in photos when we are watching this man annihilate children,” Dr Jane Anders from Doctors Against Genocide (DAG) told MEE.
“I don't know how many more videos and pictures I can see of the corpses, of the organs hanging out of children, of the lack of health care, the abject torture that is happening right now. Refusing water, refusing to allow baby formula. This is criminal, and as human beings, this is offensive to our humanity.”
Dr Fatima from DAG said that Netanyahu doesn’t belong in New York, “he belongs in the Hague”.
Solidarity through diversity
Many of the protesters present were Jewish. Irene, who was wearing a “Not in our name” t-shirt, said that she was sick of having her identity used by Israeli figures like Netanyahu to commit genocide.
A representative from the Orthodox community, Rabbi David, was also clear in separating the identities of Zionism and Judaism, and said Netanyahu was putting both Palestinians and Jewish people in danger.
“[Netanyahu] should step out of his office,” he said. “He should stop the State of Israel. He should stop this occupation in its entirety, not only, not only this genocide, but this occupation altogether. This criminal is dangerous and catastrophic, not only to Palestinians, but the Jewish people as well. He is not here for the safety of the people he claims to represent. He is here for a political movement which is destroying and killing everyone along the way.”
For David Galaraza, his identity as a Puerto Rican is the foundation of his solidarity with Palestine.
“We know what it's like to be colonised too,” he said. “If we don't stop this occupation, and we don't liberate Palestine today, what does it say about what can happen to Puerto Rico tomorrow?”
He added that, to him, Netanyahu is “epitome - the incarnation - of Satan”. He said that he is gravely disappointed in his state officials for allowing him into the city, and hopes that a new politician can step in and stand guard when it comes to Israel - like Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who has repeatedly said he would arrest Netanyahu as mayor if the prime minister would visit.
“It's disgusting that he can step foot in New York and not get arrested,” Galaraza said, “which is why we will support any candidate who will have the guts to be righteous and arrest Netanyahu. All nations in the world must make sure that they put the cuffs on him. Throw him in jail for eternity.”
Juhyun Park, a representative from Korean activist group Nodutdol, also aimed his message at UN member states, saying that there is an obvious “deep crisis” if Israel is still allowed into the General Assembly after having a warrant out for his arrest from the ICC.
“I think that what we are seeing is that the US today is a rogue actor on the world stage, along with the State of Israel, which is simply its proxy,” Park said.
“So the fact that they are in the UN right now demonstrates that there is a deep crisis going on in that body, a deep crisis in the UN that needs to be resolved through the action, the principled action of governments - not only against the genocide, but to ensure that the UN and any kind of multilateral bodies are truly representative of the will of humanity.”
Another New Yorker, Luis Gonzalez, echoed Galaraza’s support for Mamdani, and pointed to the mayoral candidate as one of the reasons that he participated in Friday’s protest against Netanyahu. Now, he says, he feels “awake”.
For Gonzalez, his message to Netanyahu was clear: “I hope you rot in prison for the rest of your life.”
