In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed world leaders who criticized U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran as “hypocrites” and “liars.” He rebuked European governments for “succumbing to antisemitic mobs.” He called the leader of Turkey a “tyrant” — and dubbed Zohran Mamdani the “antisemitic mayor of New York” with “Hamas buddies.”
And, he vowed, Iran’s “evil regime” would soon fall.
Netanyahu delivered not just a fiery defense of his country before the international audience but a rallying cry to voters back home ahead of next month’s Israeli elections.
At a time when Israel faces deepening international isolation and widening sanctions, Netanyahu struck a defiant note as he lashed out, one by one, at a litany of adversaries: Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Mamdani, a critical international media and Western governments that criticize Israel over its campaign in Gaza and its support for settlers in the West Bank, amid a rise in settler-perpetrated violence.
“Israel didn’t commit genocide, Israel prevented genocide — that’s exactly what Mr. Mamdani’s Hamas buddies would’ve done to us,” Netanyahu said.
He also promised that “something incredible” would soon happen in Iran and doubled down on a war that has proved to be deeply unpopular in the United States and a political albatross for his ally, President Donald Trump. Many world leaders were privately encouraging the attack that he launched with Trump in late February while publicly condemning the war, Netanyahu said.
“One day, and it may not be far away, 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.”
Even before he spoke, protesters gathered outside the U.N. headquarters. As Netanyahu took the stage, he was jeered by U.N. delegates. Diplomats from many member nations walked out in protest, as they did last year, leaving the Israeli leader to speak before a partially emptied hall.
Netanyahu appeared at times to be directly addressing Israeli voters as he spoke of Jewish perseverance, ingenuity and unity.
“Do we have our differences? Of course we do,” he said. “But in critical moments, those that shape our destiny, we stand together because what we unites us is so much stronger: our history, our values, our courage.”
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