More than 100 arrested as New Yorkers protest Netanyahu’s UN visit

Multiple protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took place in New York as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly, with more than 100 people arrested as demonstrators demanded accountability over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and an end to United States military support.

“I’m born and raised in New York City, and it’s a total disrespect for Benjamin Netanyahu to be here,” Jose, a protest attendee who only gave his first name, told Al Jazeera. “He’s a war criminal, and we don’t tolerate that.”

More than 400 people, including celebrities, organisers and politicians, joined an action near the UN earlier on Thursday, according to Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). The sit-in blocked part of First Avenue ahead of Netanyahu’s UNGA address. The protest was led by JVP and NYC-Democratic Socialists of America.

“ What we’re seeing this week is that Trump and Netanyahu are using the United Nations General Assembly as a bully pulpit to espouse their vision of the world, which is one ruled by brute force, by war crimes with impunity,” Nas Issa, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement and activist at the JVP demonstration, told Al Jazeera.

Protesters sought to draw attention to New York’s own role in US support for Israel. A day earlier, NYC-DSA held a news conference at John F Kennedy international airport calling for an immediate halt to military and explosive cargo shipments through the airport and for greater transparency over previous shipments of military aid to Israel.

Police ordered demonstrators on Thursday to clear the road before making arrests. The New York Police Department told Al Jazeera that 103 people were arrested for disorderly conduct, and all had been released.

Organisers said nine of those people were elected officials and candidates for office.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 13th congressional district, was among those detained.

“Benjamin Netanyahu belongs at The Hague; not in the streets of New York City, and certainly not addressing the United Nations General Assembly,” Avila Chevalier said in a statement.

JVP organiser Jess Frankel Carrel told Al Jazeera that, as a Jewish New Yorker, she wanted US funding directed towards communities at home rather than Israel’s war on Gaza.

“We don’t want our tax dollars spent bombing children. We want them to fund schools here,” Carrel said. “Many of my comrades were arrested, and we will stay here. We will stay fighting until the genocide is over.”

Hours later, thousands of protesters marched towards UN headquarters in a separate demonstration against Netanyahu’s visit, organised by the Palestinian Youth Movement and The People’s Forum.

“ I think it’s clear why Benjamin Netanyahu only wanted to spend 10 hours in this city,” Taher Dahleh, a Palestinian Youth Movement organiser, told Al Jazeera. “This city will never be a safe haven for fugitives of international law or war criminals.”

The demonstrations brought opposition to Netanyahu’s presence in New York to the streets as the Israeli prime minister defended his government’s conduct from the UNGA podium.

During his speech on Thursday afternoon, Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, calling the allegation the “greatest lie of the century” and saying Israel had taken steps to protect Palestinian civilians.

He also attacked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling him “anti-Semitic” and accusing him of spreading lies about Israel. Netanyahu claimed that since Mamdani’s election, “many Jews no longer feel safe in New York”.

Mamdani responded by accusing Netanyahu of repeating “baseless lies meant to sanitise his genocide of Palestinians”, adding that the prime minister remained the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

The mayor had pledged during his campaign to have Netanyahu arrested if he came to New York. Mamdani has since acknowledged that he does not have the authority to carry out such an arrest.

For protesters on Thursday, Netanyahu’s appearance offered an opportunity to carry their message beyond the UN chamber, calling on international leaders and the US government to act over Gaza.

“The United Nations has given Israel deadline after deadline and given Israel countless times, and still we haven’t seen any change,” Dahleh said. “ All of this complicity has to stop.”