Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday with a message for the diplomats walking out of the hall.
“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall, please do so now,” he said. “Thank you very much.”
Dozens of delegates departed, as others who remained in the room sang “Am Yisrael chai,” the people of Israel live.
Netanyahu defended Israel’s participation in strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling it one of the easiest decisions he had made as prime minister.
“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” he told attendees of the general debate of the 81st U.N. General Assembly.
Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told JNS that the address carried messages to “the international community, antisemites abroad, state threats against Israel and most especially the Iranian people.”
“It was unfortunate many U.N. delegates walked out for his speech but stayed for Masoud Pezeshkian’s address after the Iranian regime killed tens of thousands of its own people in January,” Brodsky told JNS.
Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. “Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide,” he said.
The Israeli premier also accused Qatar and Turkey of spreading antisemitic claims about the Jewish state.
Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Winner, chairman of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, told JNS that Netanyahu’s defense of Israel “is not going to change any one of our enemy’s attitude” but that it offers support to Jews abroad.
“Raise your heads,” Winner said. “Be proud of what you are.”
Winner called the speech “meaningful” and said that the Israeli prime minister was answering to “false accusations” thrown at the Jewish state.
“He was giving a deterrence speech,” he told JNS. “Don’t think you can think about attacking us. Look what happened to all of those who tried.”
Netanyahu said in his remarks that he would not tolerate vigilantism in Judea and Samaria but called Jewish residents there “honorable people, law-abiding people.” He accused critics of overlooking Palestinian attacks against them.
Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS that Netanyahu’s speech was “Churchillian” and praised the prime minister’s argument that the conflict is “not about land. It’s about Israel’s existence.”
“I only wish he’d given these types of speeches for the last 20 years,” Klein said. “This speech was for centrists, not committed left-wing ideologues. I think he’s convinced a lot of centrists, ‘Maybe I’ve had the wrong impression of Israel. Maybe they are actually the innocent party in this.’”
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told JNS that he wished Netanyahu had highlighted diplomatic progress in Lebanon and described a future for Palestinians.
“They’ve actually made some progress on working with the Lebanese government and the Lebanese Armed Forces to try to get to a more peaceful outcome,” he said. “Netanyahu is determined to make Israel into Sparta, fighting everywhere all the time against their enemies, and the fact that he didn’t mention the one place where they’re moving in a peaceful direction is unfortunate.”
“I know what they’re up against. I know the violence they face,” Smith told JNS. “But I think the one question the Israeli government needs to answer to start getting support is what is their vision of the future for the Palestinians?”
“The support in America, and not just among Democrats, is being reduced for Israel,” the congressman said. “It’s wavering in me. It’s wavering in a lot of people because of that concern about what the future is for Palestinians.”
Smith said that the consequences of the Israeli elections in October “could be profound.”
“Support from the United States for Israel is going to be a real challenge,” he said.
In his remarks, Netanyahu also addressed Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, whose son Neria was critically injured in a car ramming terror attack in Samaria. The envoy’s son—one of Neria’s brothers—Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, 39, was killed in action in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 10, 2023
“Yechiel, my brother, your pain is immeasurable,” Netanyahu said from the podium. “To Neria and to all the heroes of Israel, I pledge a sacred vow. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.”
The Israeli premier also directed comments to Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, who campaigned on having Netanyahu arrested but more recently admitted that he lacked the authority to do so.
Jews have told Netanyahu that they no longer feel safe in the city, he said.
“You tried to silence me,” he told Mamdani. “Well, you can’t silence me.”
Netanyahu closed with a message to Jews around the world, to whom he wished a “chag sameach,” a happy holiday. Sukkot begins on Friday night.
“Raise your head high,” he said. “Be proud. Be confident. Don’t be intimidated. Stand up.”
