On September 24th, 2026, more than 100 people were taken into police custody as protesters gathered near the United Nations to oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the General Assembly.
New York Councilmembers Chi Ossé and Alexa Avilés were among those detained during the arrests on First Avenue according to their spokespeople.
The protest was organized by the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), followed by a week of protests leading to the prime minister’s visit organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement. According to JVP organizers who led the protest, a number of public figures, local elected and congressional nominees, marched alongside 400 New Yorkers.
Organizers claim the movement stands with Palestinians and is calling for the world to stop funding Israel in the ongoing war with Gaza. Police say those in custody are being processed, and information on charges should come around Thursday night.
The protests, both in solidarity and against the Israeli Prime Minister, come amid long arguments between Prime Minister Netanyahu and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani vowed to do everything in his power to try and arrest Netanyahu if he ever set foot in New York City. He reiterated the statement in July, but he later admitted he did not have the authority to do so.
This week, Mamdani has repeated his critiques calling Netanyahu a “war criminal” and “an architect of genocide.”
Netanyahu has denied these allegations, posting a video on social media saying he was coming to the U.N. to “tell the truth.”
On Thursday Netanyahu took the podium at 2pm. At the same time dozens of dignitaries walked out of the chambers in protest. He addressed them as “moral cowards,” inviting anyone else to leave the room before his speech.
He then turned to Mayor Mamdani and said, “You’ve repeatedly accused Israel of genocide. Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth. And here’s the simple truth. Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.”
