Demonstration against anti-Semitism in Manhattan before Netanyahu's UN appearance

Benjamin Netanyahu's name was not mentioned Wednesday afternoon at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza on 47th Street in Manhattan. Hardly anyone of the speakers utters the word Israel, except in the repeated Jewish incantation “Am Yisrael Chai,” which is more common in bad times than in good times and translates as: “The people of Israel live.” Finally, the war that the country is waging in Gaza is also not mentioned further.

The major Jewish organizations in New York and the USA have called for a demonstration against anti-Semitism. The occasion, as the place and time show, can only be: this year's speech by the Israeli Prime Minister at the UN General Assembly in New York. There are still almost 20 hours until Benjamin Netanyahu's appearance on Thursday at the United Nations headquarters directly opposite, and a whole series of protests have been announced against his presence. The one in Hammarskjöld Plaza is not one of them, but it is also not a warm welcome for Benjamin Netanyahu.