Progressive Jewish groups protest Netanyahu arrival in New York City

An array of liberal and left-wing Jewish groups took to the streets on Thursday to protest the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York City for his address to the UN General Assembly.

His arrival sparked a wave of demonstrations in Manhattan organized by groups spanning from liberal Zionist to anti-Zionist, as well as multiple Israeli expatriate groups.

“We are gathered here as American Jews, Israelis, New Yorkers, to say: You are not welcome here,” said Margo Hughes-Robinson, executive director of the left-leaning group New York Jewish Agenda.

She spoke at a protest in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, near the UN, sponsored by a host of liberal Jewish groups including hers, T’ruah, J Street, New Jewish Narrative, New Israel Fund, Smol Emuni and Partners for Progressive Israel.

“He is promoting a racist, destructive policy that is endangering both Palestinians and Israelis as well as others in the region,” Jill Jacobs, T’ruah’s CEO, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an interview.

New York rallies reflect political divide over Netanyahu visit

Democratic candidates for Congress spotted among the crowds included Brad Lander at the Israelis for Peace protest and Darializa Avila Chevalier at the Jewish Voice for Peace rally.

Counterprotesters attempted to drown out the gathering by blowing whistles and yelling into megaphones. They led chants of “Bibi!” and sang “Hatikva,” Israel’s national anthem, and “Am Israel Chai.”

Netanyahu’s visit marked the culmination of a back-and-forth between the prime minister and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who had vowed during his campaign to have him arrested. Netanyahu used part of his UN speech to attack Mamdani, whom he called “the antisemitic mayor of New York.”

Mamdani had acknowledged that he lacked the legal authority to carry out his campaign vow to arrest Netanyahu but has continued to call him a war criminal and the “architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people,” and called for his International Criminal Court arrest warrant to be carried out.

As Netanyahu was scheduled to begin speaking on Thursday, Mamdani posted a video of himself planting an olive tree the previous night outside Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, with Gazan families.

Jewish Voice for Peace praises Mamdani’s stance on Israel

Blocks away from Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, at a demonstration by the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, JVP’s executive director Stefanie Fox told JTA that she has been “happy to see the mayor from his pulpit doing precisely what he should do to try to end the complicity of New York City and Israel’s war crimes.”

Dozens of activists were arrested at the JVP demonstration for blocking the intersection of 39th Street and First Avenue. A number of prominent progressives participated, including congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier, City Council member Chi Osse and state Senate nominee Aber Kawas, as well as entertainers including Susan Sarandon, Hannah Einbinder and Caleb Hearon.

Three Democratic congressional nominees who are staunch Israel critics and were all endorsed by JVP — Melat Kiros from Colorado, Adam Hamawy from New Jersey and Chris Rabb from Pennsylvania — also appeared. Fox said their presence exemplified the “political earthquake” in Americans’ sentiment toward Israel and US support for it.

A number of speakers at Thursday’s demonstrations stressed that Israel’s elections, being held Oct. 27, offer a chance to remove Netanyahu from power.

UnXeptable, an Israeli expat group, held a rally of several dozen people in Union Square where they chanted, “Vote him out!” One woman held a sign reading, “I’m a Zionist Jew. I’m NOT the Israeli government.”

A passerby disrupted the demonstration, yelling “Free Palestine!” and “You guys killed thousands of babies!” The rally was the only anti-Netanyahu demonstration on Thursday where participants displayed Israeli flags.

Israeli activist criticizes Netanyahu government at NYC rally

Activist Ami Dror, who flew in from Israel, was one of a number of speakers on Thursday who cited reporting that Netanyahu had ignored a warning prior to Oct. 7, calling Hamas’ attack “the Netanyahu massacre.”

The Israeli government, Dror said in Union Square, does “not represent the people of Israel. It’s a criminal government, and they must go home.”

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie of Lab/Shul commended those in the crowd at Dag Hammarskjöld who said they were traveling to Israel to either vote or support efforts to vote out Netanyahu.

Israelis for Peace and Friends of Standing Together, which supports an Israeli Jewish-Arab group that for a time considered a run in next month’s Israel elections, held a demonstration across from the Israeli consulate.

Brad Lander, the Jewish progressive and Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th congressional district, appeared at the rally, and also made stops at T’Ruah’s and JVP’s rallies. At the Israelis for Peace rally, Lander told reporters that both the US and Israel have big elections coming up, and that both congressional policy and Israeli policy “are going to have to change.”

In addition to the numerous protests, some political messages were displayed around midtown Manhattan. A man a block away from the UN held a sign that read “Israel’s killing Muslim children.”

More than 1,000 join pro-Palestinian demonstration in Manhattan

An 18-wheeler driving along Second Avenue featured a Palestinian flag design and the text “Free Palestine” on the side of its trailer.

A number of rallygoers trickled in from the T’Ruah rally to protest with Israelis for Peace. The expat group’s chants included, “He will burn the region down, Netanyahu out of town,” as well as “From the river to the sea, freedom and equality” — a take on the “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” chant that is commonly heard at pro-Palestinian protests.

More than 1,000 people joined a procession led by Palestinian Youth Movement and a number of anti-Zionist groups ater in the afternoon. Demonstrators marched from Bryant Park to near the UN, carrying “Free Palestine” signs and Palestinian flags. Some held Iranian or Lebanese flags.