Police Arrest Dozens as Netanyahu Addresses UN General Assembly

New York City police detained between 30 and 104 demonstrators on Thursday during protests against Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of his address to the United Nations General Assembly. Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, the Democratic Socialists of America, and the People’s Forum, protesters blocked traffic on First Avenue and held a sit-in to demand the prime minister's arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

Among those arrested were actress Susan Sarandon, whistleblower Chelsea Manning, New York City Council members Chi Ossé and Alexa Avilés, and congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier. Other high-profile figures, including Cynthia Nixon and Elliot Page, attended the demonstrations but were not detained. A separate, larger rally of over 2,000 people organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement also marched from Bryant Park toward the UN, causing significant traffic disruptions near Grand Central Station.

During his speech, Netanyahu defended Israel's military campaigns, asserting that the war in Gaza is "the opposite of genocide" and calling genocide allegations "the biggest lie of the century." He further dismissed the demonstrators as "phoney human rights protesters" and accused New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani of being anti-semitic. Mayor Mamdani responded by calling the prime minister's claims "baseless lies meant to sanitise his genocide" and cited Netanyahu's existing International Criminal Court arrest warrant.