There are moments in history when silence becomes more than silence. It becomes a choice. On September 24, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the UN headquarters. The demonstration, organised by Jewish Voice for Peace, was not an obscure gathering at the margins of society. Jewish, Palestinian, Iranian and Lebanese New Yorkers stood together, joined by elected officials, candidates, artists and activists. They sat in the streets, blocked traffic and demanded an end to US military support for Israel and accountability for the devastation in Gaza. More than 100 people were arrested, according to protest organisers; Jewish Voice for Peace reported 104 arrests. There was something profoundly symbolic about the scene. Inside the United Nations, a leader whose government faces grave international allegations was addressing the world’s premier institution for diplomacy. Outside, ordinary citizens were being arrested for demanding that international law mean something. The contrast is difficult to ignore. Netanyahu’s appearance at the UN came against the backdrop of an extraordinary humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs continues to report civilian casualties, widespread destruction, displacement and severe shortages of essential supplies. Its September reports describe a population living amid damaged buildings, inadequate shelter, restricted access to humanitarian materials and continuing insecurity. In the West Bank, the UN has also documented a sharp rise in settler attacks, with more than 1,600 incidents resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage recorded between January and August 2026. These are not merely numbers in a newspaper. Behind every statistic is a human being. A child who has lost a parent. A mother searching through rubble. A father who no longer has a home to return to. A doctor working without adequate medicines. A family wondering where it will sleep when winter arrives. And perhaps this is precisely why the protests........

© Daily Times