Netanyahu will speak at the United Nations as Israel, mired in one war, heads toward another

Jerusalem, September 25: Only a year ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu triumphantly proclaimed a new peace that would sweep the Middle East from the podium of the UN General Assembly. A year later, as he returns to the same world stage, that vision lies in tatters.
The devastating war in Gaza is now a year old, Israel is on the brink of a wider regional war with the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group, and the country finds itself increasingly isolated internationally. At the helm is a polarizing leader whose handling of the conflict has sparked protests in capitals around the world as well as on the streets of his own country.
And it is not just the escalating regional conflicts that are weighing on Israel. Netanyahu will travel to New York also burdened by a possible impending arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against him, putting him in a kind of camaraderie with Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
“He is almost reaching the point where he is becoming persona non grata,” said Alon Liel, former director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry and an outspoken critic of Netanyahu.

He is known for his speeches at the UN, but will this year be different?
Netanyahu is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Friday. A gifted speaker, he has long viewed speeches from such venerable places as the best way to convey a message and score political points. Israelis are fascinated by his flawless English and fiery oratory.
In July, he spoke out in support of Israeli supporters of war in the Gaza Strip before a joint session of the US Congress, earning widespread applause and praise, even from some critics in his home country.
“In his view, trips to New York, to the big stage of world affairs, are an advantage,” said Yossi Shain, professor of international relations at Georgetown University and Tel Aviv University. Netanyahu’s speeches abroad are often designed to impress audiences at home, and this one is no different.
Netanyahu is known for his show at the United Nations and has repeatedly used the pulpit to promote his ideology and policies. In a 2012 speech, Netanyahu brandished a placard depicting a cartoon bomb to illustrate what he called Iran’s race toward a nuclear weapon. In 2009, he appeared with a copy of the plans for the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and used them to highlight what he said were the former Iranian president’s “anti-Semitic rants.”
Last year, he focused on the apparent burgeoning normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, which he said showed that a broader Middle East peace was not dependent on a resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians. He held up his prop, a map of the region, and used the word “peace” 42 times. The map appeared to depict Gaza and the West Bank – territories the Palestinians claim for a future state – as surrounded by Israel.
But Netanyahu is coming to the United Nations this week at a time when his own diplomatic capital and legitimacy, and that of the country he represents, are at an all-time low. Critics say that beyond a moment in the spotlight, it is not clear what Netanyahu hopes to achieve with the visit.
“He is a big fan of speechmaking,” said Tal Schneider, an Israeli political commentator. “He believes that if he gives a speech in English, he can convince people that his approach is right,” she said, adding that it shows he has “lost touch with reality.”
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Miki Zohar, a cabinet minister close to Netanyahu, said the UN was a “very important stage” to present Israel’s position and he hoped the speech would bolster international support.

Some may not want to hear what he has to say
At the United Nations, Netanyahu will try to convince a world increasingly angry about Israel’s war in Gaza that its aims are just. He may try to mobilize the world for an Israeli war against Hezbollah. And he will likely blame Iran for the chaos in the region, a repeated theme of his speeches at home and abroad. That he is making the trip at all at a time of escalating violence with Hezbollah shows how much importance he attaches to this speech.
But Netanyahu’s words may fall on deaf ears.
The Israeli president “actually believes that his speeches at the UN have a transformative impact on history. That is not the case,” said Alon Pinkas, former Israeli consul general in New York. Netanyahu’s visit, Pinkas added, comes at a time when Israel is perceived worldwide as being “on the verge of being a condemned pariah state” and its president is seen as an “apostate warmonger.”
Protests are expected during his visit. New York is home to Columbia University, which saw some of the most violent campus demonstrations in recent years this spring by students protesting the bloodshed in Gaza.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving head of state, has been a polarizing figure internationally for years. His hard line toward the Palestinians in particular has angered world leaders. But his handling of the war in Gaza has further tarnished his global perception.
The war was triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 were taken hostage to Gaza. Many Israelis blame Netanyahu and his policies for allowing Hamas to develop the military capacity to break through Israel’s much-vaunted defenses and carry out the attack.
According to Gaza health officials, more than 41,000 Palestinians have died as a result of the war, often multiple members of a family. The war has forced most of the small territory’s 2.3 million inhabitants to flee, in many cases multiple times, and has triggered a humanitarian crisis that has led to widespread hunger and a lack of access to basic services.
US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire have stalled, and Netanyahu is facing domestic criticism for refusing to bring home the 70 or so hostages believed to be alive and the bodies of about 30 others.
After the unprecedented Hamas attack, Israel initially had the support of its allies to punish the militant group. But the ferocity of the retaliatory attack and the horrifying number of civilians it has claimed have soured international sentiment against Israel. Over time, the Biden administration has grown increasingly impatient and has slowed some arms shipments. Britain said earlier this month it would suspend some arms exports to Israel because of the risk that their use could violate international law.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant against Netanyahu will also have a major impact on the visit and could turn a leader who sees himself as an international statesman into a global pariah. Liel suspects that very few heads of state will agree to meet with him on the sidelines of the gathering and that the visit could turn out to be a flop for Netanyahu.
“There is no doubt that he knows how to give a speech,” Liel said, adding: “I think the world is believing his babble less and less.” (AP)