WASHINGTON (TNND) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly this week, delivering a defiant speech that came as several delegations walked out before he even began.
“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall, please do so now. Thank you very much,” Netanyahu said as he took the podium. (TNND)
“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall, please do so now. Thank you very much,” Netanyahu said as he took the podium.
The address comes at a moment when Israel’s standing on the world stage has grown increasingly fractured. Recent polling shows growing skepticism toward Netanyahu and Israel’s conduct in its war with Hamas, as well as its role in the broader conflict with Iran. A Pew Research poll conducted over the summer found that 62% of Americans held an unfavorable view of the Israeli government. Crowds of protesters gathered outside the UN in the days leading up to Netanyahu’s speech, underscoring the tension surrounding his visit.
Despite the friction, Netanyahu used his remarks to praise Israel’s partnership with the United States and President Trump, defend the ongoing war with Iran, and take direct aim at critics, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He also condemned what he described as worsening antisemitism around the world.
“So Israel has never been stronger. We are not afraid. But I’ll tell you who is afraid. The tyrants of Tehran, that’s who. And you know what? They’re most afraid of their own people,” Netanyahu said. “The Iranian people will be free. Their murderous regime will be toppled by its lies, by its corruption, by its cruelty. This evil regime will fall, and we will all celebrate that day.”
Netanyahu’s address came a day after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to the General Assembly, telling world leaders that Iranians had been victims of terrorism carried out by the United States and Israel.
“They close access for us to our own waterway. Yet they keep supplying missiles and deadly tech military technologies to bring insecurity to all of the lands surrounding that waterway. We will not succumb to that,” Pezeshkian said Thursday.
The dueling addresses highlight just how far apart the two nations remain as their conflict continues to reverberate across the region and beyond, with each side using the UN stage to make its case to the international community.
Palestinian leadership also addressed the assembly this week, though only virtually after being denied a visa to enter the United States. In his remarks, the Palestinian leader called on world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its actions and pushed for renewed efforts to revive a stalled peace plan in Gaza — a plea that added yet another layer to a General Assembly session already dominated by competing narratives over the wars reshaping the Middle East.