Protests erupt as Netanyahu gives inflammatory UN speech - The Latest

Today in Focus

The episode covers Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial address to the UN General Assembly, which triggered a mass walkout by delegates and la

Key takeaways

• Netanyahu described allegations of genocide in Gaza as the 'greatest lie of the century.'
• More than 100 people were arrested during protests in New York, including actress Susan Sarandon.

Main topics

• Netanyahu's UN Speech
• Gaza War Controversy

Notable quotes

Is this genocide? Of course not. It's the opposite of genocide.

Conclusion

The episode provides a deep dive into the escalating international fri

Transcript preview

Speaker 6 (0:00) This is The Guardian. Speaker 1 (0:10) Support comes from WISE, the smart way to manage the currencies you need around the world. Your life is global. Your money should be too. Some providers promise no fees on overseas transfers. Don't be fooled. Extra costs often hide in bloated exchange rates. Choose WISE. You can send, spend and receive money in over 40 currencies. Count on the exchange rates that you'd usually see on Google. That's how millions save billions on hidden fees. Be smart. Get WISE. Visit WISE.com. Speaker 1 (0:40) There Speaker 5 (0:44) was this, you know, big walkout, a stream upon stream of delegates walking out. Speaker 6 (0:49) Is this genocide? Of course not. It's the opposite of genocide. Speaker 5 (1:02) He's not trying to pretend he has friends where he doesn't. I think it's sort of telling that this was a very quick trip for Netanyahu. This doesn't feel like something that Trump wants to be a priority for him. From Speaker 4 (1:12) The Guardian's Today In Focus, this is The Latest with me, Lucy Hoth. Speaker 4 (1:19) Bunyuman Netanyahu has made a very controversial appearance at the UN General Assembly in New York with a very inflammatory speech. Devika Bhat, you're our global editor in the UK. Outside of the UN headquarters, there were mass protests on the streets with a number of famous faces, but also a number of arrests. What was the sort of scale of those protests? Speaker 5 (1:44) Hi, Lucy. Yes, that's right. There were these protests both ahead of Netanyahu's visit and indeed yesterday when he spoke last night. The latest is that 100 people or thereabouts were arrested, including, as you say, some quite famous names like Susan Sarandon, a Democratic congressional candidate, a New York City Council member. And there were sort of multiple different groups that held protests which sort of coalesced at some points beyond the the fact that there were these demos and we've seen those in recent years when Netanyahu has appeared ever since the war in Gaza started. I think it sort of speaks increasingly to Israel's sort of international isolation. Speaker 4 (2:28) Yes, so much like the protests, every time Netanyahu has visited New York since the events of October 23 and the subsequent Israeli response, he has faced mass walkouts as he's begun his address, which is what happened yesterday. There was a specific call from Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, because the Palestinian delegates for the second year in a row had their visas rejected. So that call was honoured. in very, very big numbers. What was the atmosphere in the Assembly Hall like? Speaker 5 (3:01) Yes, that's right. So there was this, you know, big walkout, a stream upon stream of delegates walking out. And as you say, we have seen that in recent years. And, you know, indeed, Israel and Netanyahu expected this. They anticipated it. And indeed, you know, one of Netanyahu's first kind of points before he even started his speech was to call on the, in his words, moral cowards, any other moral cowards, as he put it, to leave the room. That's how he described the people walking out. He sort of tried to frame them as sort of hypocrites. And indeed, he sort of suggested that some of those who'd walked out of the room had behind the scenes, you know, their governments had behind the scenes supported