Netanyahu Attacks ‘Self-Described Progressives’ Protesting Israel As Supporting ‘Iranian-Backed Goons’ That Shoot Protestors

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Friday and took a swipe at progressives for continuing to protest against his military campaigns against Hamas and Hezbollah, the latter of which continues to escalate .

“Across the globe, in this battle between good and evil, there must be no equivocation. When you stand with Israel, you stand for your own values and your own interests. Yes, we’re defending ourselves, but we’re also defending you against a common enemy that, through violence and terror, seeks to destroy our way of life,” Netanyahu said in the latter half of his speech, adding:

So there should be no confusion about this. But unfortunately, there is a lot of it in many countries and in this very home. As I’ve just heard, good is portrayed as evil, and evil is portrayed as good. We see this moral confusion when Israel is falsely accused of genocide. When we defend ourselves against enemies who try to commit genocide against us, we see this too.

When Israel is absurdly accused by the ICC prosecutor of deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza. What an absurdity. We help bring in 700,000 tons of food into Gaza. That’s more than 3000 calories a day for every man, woman and child in Gaza.

We see this moral confusion when Israel is falsely accused of deliberately targeting civilians. We don’t want to see a single person. A single innocent person die. That’s always a tragedy. And that’s why we do so much to minimize civilian casualties, even as our enemies use civilians as human shields. And no army has done what Israel is doing to minimize civilian casualties. We drop fliers. We send text messages. We make phone calls by the millions to ensure that Palestinian civilians get out of harm’s way. We spare no effort in this noble pursuit.

Netanyahu then turned to domestic politics, adding, “We see yet another profound moral confusion when self this self-described progressives march against the democracy of Israel. Don’t they realize they support the Iranian-backed goons in Tehran and in Gaza. The goons who gunned down protesters, murdered women for not covering their hair, and hang gays in public squares.” He continued:

Some progressives… According to the US director of National Intelligence, Iran funds and fuels many of the protesters against Israel. Who knows, maybe, maybe some of the protesters or even many of the protesters outside this building now. Ladies and gentlemen. King Solomon, who reigned in our eternal capital Jerusalem 3000 years ago, proclaimed. He proclaimed something that is familiar to all of you. He said, there is nothing new under the sun.

Well, in an age of space travel, quantum physics and artificial intelligence. Some would argue that’s a debatable statement. But one thing is undeniable. There is definitely nothing new at the United Nations. Take it from me. I first spoke from this podium as Israel’s ambassador to the UN in 1984.

That’s exactly 40 years ago. And in my maiden speech here, I think it’s the same podium, by the way, in my maiden speech here, I spoke against the proposal to expel Israel from this body. Four decades later. I find myself defending Israel against that same preposterous proposal. And who’s leading the charge this time? Not Hamas, but Abbas. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. This is the man who claims he wants peace with Israel, yet he still refuses to condemn the horrific massacre of October 7th. He is still paying hundreds of millions to terrorists who murder Israelis and Americans.

It’s called ‘pay for slay.’ The more you murder, the more you get paid. And he still wages unremitting diplomatic warfare against his his right to exist and against Israel’s right to defend itself. And by the way, they amount to the same thing. Because if you can’t defend yourself, you can’t exist. Not in our neighborhood, certainly, and maybe not in yours. Standing in this podium 40 years ago, I told the sponsors of that outrageous resolution to expel Israel.

Gentlemen, check your fanaticism at the door today. I told President Abbas and all of you who would shamefully support that resolution. Check your fanaticism at the door. The singling out of the one and only Jewish state continues to be a moral stain on the United Nations. It has made this once respected institution contemptible in the eyes of decent people everywhere but for the Palestinians. This UN house of darkness is home court. They know that in this swamp of anti-Semitic bile, there’s an automatic majority willing to demonize the Jewish state. And anything in this anti-Israel, flat Earth society, any false charge, any outlandish allegation, can muster a majority. In the last decade, there have been more resolutions passed against Israel in this hall at the UN General Assembly than against the entire world combined, actually more than twice as many since 2014.

“This body condemned Israel 174 times. It condemned all the other countries in the world 73 times. That’s more than 100 extra condemnations for the Jewish state. What hypocrisy. What a double standard. What a joke. So the UN’s hostility. So all the speeches you heard –” Netanyahu stopped as applause broke out after he called the UN a “joke.”

Watch the clip above.