MOVIE STAR SUSAN Sarandon and “Hacks” actress Hannah Einbinder were among people detained by police in New York this afternoon during a protest against Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli prime minister delivered his country’s address to the UN General Assembly shortly after 2pm local time (7pm Irish time), prompting a mass walkout from delegates in the hall in protest over Israel’s ongoing military campaigns. 

Netanyahu described those walking out as “moral cowards”.

Ireland’s delegation did not participate in the walkout.

Meanwhile, on the streets outside the UN campus, groups of protesters gathered ahead of the speech. 

Netanyahu supporters

Some carried Israeli flags and placards printed with handwritten messages welcoming Netanyahu to New York. 

A short distance away, a pro-Palestine protest got underway as tensions flared between the two demonstrations. 

“Go fuck yourself,” one young man shouted at an older couple who were carrying a placard with a photo of Netanyahu with the text “Wanted for Crime Against Humanity” printed above his image. 

Speaking to The Journal afterwards, the married couple, Mary Krieger and Stefan Krieger, said they were Jewish and had participated in a number of protests against Netanyahu’s government, particularly since his controversial judicial reforms in 2023. 

Mary Krieger, who has just recently applied for Irish citizenship, said she took issue with Netanyahu’s government’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories and said it is a “very heated issue” within the Jewish community. 

“It’s very polarised,” Stefan added, “There are people who leave synagogues because they feel like they are not welcome. There’s a lot of doxxing going on of young people who protest Israel.”

Stefan and Mary Krieger

He said it is “appalling” to see people conflate criticism of the actions of the Israeli State and antisemitism. 

“It’s appalling that he [Netanyahu] is weaponising antisemitism in support of genocidal policies.

“For us, Israel is not a part of our religious identity.

“There are many Jews like us, that doesn’t mean that Jews don’t have a right to continue to live there but we believe they have a right to live there with equal rights with Palestinians,” Stefan said.

On her Irish heritage, Mary said her grandparents on her father’s side were Irish immigrants from Kerry.

She said depending on what happens in the world, she would consider moving to Ireland.

Further up the street, an anti-Netanyahu protester clashed with some of his supporters.

The woman, who was wearing a face covering and carrying a sign which read “Netanyahu is a f*cking c*nt” had to be led away by NYPD as a man dressed in a suit moved close to her face and asked repeatedly: “Why are you hiding?”

Across the road, a group of pro-Palestine supporters chanted in support of a free Palestine. 

One woman held a sign with pictures of children on it along with the text: “Israel murdered over 50,000 kids”.

Another man carried an effigy of Netanyahu wearing prison clothes and a noose around his neck. His black and white jumpsuit was emblazoned with the word “Satan” on the front. 

In the same gathering, a group of Jewish rabbis carried a sign which read: “Authentic Rabbis always opposed Zionism and the State of Israel” alongside an image of a crossed-out Israeli flag.  

Protesters outside the United Nations headquarters in New York this afternoon ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address pic.twitter.com/0PHPXxuqHo

— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) September 24, 2026

Around the same time, The New York Post reported that actor Hannah Einbinder had been marched away from a demonstration organised by Jewish Voice for Peace, where protesters held banners that read “Stop Arming Israel” and “End the Genocide.”

A spokesperson for the NYPD said officers had responded to reports of an “unscheduled demonstration” where people were blocking an intersection.

“Members of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau issued… warnings, advising participants that they should leave,” the spokesperson said.

“They continued to block the intersection. Multiple individuals who didn’t comply were taken into custody,” she said, without providing the number of people arrested.

Inside the General Assembly, Netanyahu used his speech to criticise his enemies and allies who have crossed him in recent months, including Britain and France, which have recently moved to recognise the State of Palestine.

“They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism – some colonialism. And who’s accusing us? Among them are people in Britain and in France. For God’s sakes, they invented the term,” he told the assembly.

Includes reporting from AFP