Transcending differences in class, race, religion, and age, the thousands of protesters who flooded the streets of Midtown Manhattan on Thursday rallied around one idea: that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal who — rather than be allowed to visit New York City and speak at the United Nations — should be arrested for his role in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

In a massive Palestinian Youth Movement-led demonstration amid increasingly negative views of the Israeli government, a few thousand pro-Palestine protesters marched from the main branch of the New York Public Library all the way to a plaza right outside of the UN headquarters. The march took place just after Netanyahu — who has an active arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court — spoke at the UN General Assembly.

The prime minister’s UNGA address was delivered to a largely empty room. Delegates from over 75 countries walked out of his speech, in which he rebuked Mayor Mamdani and denied accusations that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. Netanyahu was in New York City for less than eight hours and did not meet with President Trump. 

Earlier on Thursday, around 100 people — including Democratic nominee for NY-13 Darializa Avila Chevalier, New York City Council Member Chi Ossé, and Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon — were arrested by the NYPD in a Jewish-Voice-for-Peace-led sit-in in Midtown Manhattan.

Chanting throughout, protesters marched east on 42nd Street from the NYPL until reaching 3rd Avenue. After pausing for a brief speech, the march continued up 3rd Avenue before making a right on 47th Street. From there, protesters continued east and gathered densely at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza — a few blocks away from the UN headquarters — for a series of longer speeches.

Speakers included representatives from PYM, the Democratic Socialists of America, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, CUNY for Palestine, and the National Lawyers Guild.

Speeches criticized Netanyahu and his government, called for his arrest, and demanded an end to material complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza at the city, state, and federal levels.

Regardless of their personal backgrounds or organizational affiliations, everyone The Indypendent spoke with said they were protesting out of rage against Netanyahu, his government’s violence against Palestinians, and the principles of Zionism they saw as underlying both.

Ysabella Titi, an organizer with PYM, said that “[we] are coming out here today to show that we reject the war criminal Netanyahu from visiting New York City, but we also reject Zionism, the rogue state of Israel, and everything that Netanyahu stands for.”

Some protesters, like PYM organizer Nas Issa, felt a personal responsibility to demonstrate because of the United States’ complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. “I’m even more outraged that the tax dollars that I pay to the U.S. government are funding bombs to Israel instead of social services that could be serving our own city and making it a place where working-class people can actually build a life for themselves,” Issa said.

Protesters emphasized that they weren’t marching only against Netanyahu’s visit — they were also demonstrating in solidarity with Palestinians.

Tajee, an organizer with The People’s Forum, was protesting “in solidarity with the Palestinian people, to let them know that the broad masses of American people do not look favorably upon Israel.”

The sheer volume of protesters who marched to the UN on Thursday comes amid years of steady decline in Americans’ support for the Israeli government. According to a survey by Pew Research Center, 62% of Americans viewed the Israeli government unfavorably in 2026 — up from 59% in 2025, 51% in 2024, and 43% in 2022.

This isn’t the first major disruption to Israeli officials’ visits to New York City: In July, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir cancelled his planned UN appearance following a multi-pronged organizing effort coordinated by the PYM.

For Titi, the changing tide in Israel’s public perception is no surprise. “People are waking up,” she said. “Anyone with a beating heart is going to stand with Palestine right now … when Israel just continues to bomb civilians — continues to kill babies, families — it’s hard not to stand against that.”

Thursday’s march convened a broad coalition of pro-Palestine organizations, and included protesters from JVP, DSA, PSL, the Working Families Party, the Neturei Karta, IfNotNow, and Code Pink.

“When we see the organizations that have gathered here today, it’s out of a recognition that our struggles are intertwined,” Issa explained. “The fight for Palestine isn’t just because we believe in the dignity and sanctity of Palestinian life, but because we know that if we don’t fight for them, we’re also going to be paying for it at the end of the day.”

Solidarity was centered throughout the march. Jodie Evans, co-founder of the feminist antiwar and anti-imperialist group Code Pink, said that “there is only solidarity … Solidarity is life, solidarity is how we’re alive, and solidarity is how we create change.”

Hundreds of the protesters at the march were Jewish or affiliated with Jewish organizations like JVP, IfNotNow, and the Neturei Karta. 

Gabriel, a Jewish undergraduate and organizer at Columbia, offered one explanation why. “My Jewish brothers and sisters are out here because we experienced genocide, and we are not going to let it happen to another people,” he said. 

Asked if he had anything to say to Netanyahu, he paused before responding: “You have abandoned the Jewish people.”

Gabriel added that “students are the conscience of the world and the conscience of the United States, and we have always been the ones who are loudest and proudest about Palestine. And so we’re going to continue to bring our bodies to the streets until the genocide ends.”

University campuses have been a significant front of the pro-Palestine movement in the US, with student organizers demanding that their schools end their complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza by financially divesting from weapons companies and companies that do business in Israel.

After years of organizing and pressure, CUNY for Palestine recently succeeded in getting CUNY to disclose their financial records and recent stock holdings — but disclosure is just the beginning.

“If divestment is the floor to what liberation could look like,” said Hadeeqa, an organizer with CUNY for Palestine who spoke at the march, then disclosure is “the basement.” The group now seeks to end CUNY’s ties to individual companies such as Boeing and Palantir. As of 2025, the university had more than $300,000 invested in Boeing and more than $180,000 in Palantir.

For PYM organizers, declining public favorability of Israel is only the start. In addition to supporting the state-level Not On Our Dime! Act, they demand an end to land sale events for West Bank settlements (which are illegal under international law), an end to weapons shipments to Israel through JFK passenger flights, divestment of city pension funds and university endowments from Israel, and a full arms embargo on Israel.

“As difficult and heartbreaking as the last three years have been,” Issa said, “it’s days like this where you see that thousands of New Yorkers feel the same way that I do, and that they want to fight.”