By the time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived on the floor of the United Nations, his country had been on the receiving end of scores of condemnations from the podium for two days.
asserted
country → arrive → days
As he prepared to speak at the 81st General Assembly on Thursday, a massive protest was underway outside the building in solidarity with Palestinians.
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protest → prepare → Palestinians
Actress Susan Sarandon was among those arrested.
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Sarandon → arrest → those
Before boarding the plane to New York, Netanyahu told Israeli media that he would “fight for the truth” against the “terrible lies being spread” among the world leaders.
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he → board → leaders
And when the Israeli leader took the stage, the crowd erupted into a mix of cheers and boos.
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crowd → take → cheers
Dozens of representatives began filing out of the venue, and his scattershot “attack” against the “eighth front” of Israel’s conflict began: “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left this hall, please do so now!”
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who → file → hall
It was the most divisive and accusatory speech yet at the assembly, beginning with a victory lap for his nation’s role in the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last year.
“It was very hard to do, but for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as prime minister — because if we hadn’t done it, we would all be dead,” Netanyahu told the crowd.
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Netanyahu → begin → crowd
He called criticism of these strikes the “ultimate irony” because his country is “also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall.”
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delegates → call → hall
“Many of their leaders thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes,” he continued.
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he → thank → nukes
“It’s hard to imagine more mind-blowing hypocrisy, but that is what it is.”
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it → ’ → hypocrisy
It was the beginning of a speech that never relented in its outrage as the Israeli leader rhetorically fired in all directions.
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leader → relent → directions
The countries that have thus far condemned Israeli actions during the 2026 assembly stretched beyond its regional rivals like Jordan, Turkey, Qatar, and Iran.
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that → condemn → Jordan
French President Emmanuel Macron denounced Israeli operations in the West Bank, “where there are violations every day.”
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Macron → denounce → Bank
United Kingdom and France
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that, although the Oct. 7 attacks were “utterly horrific,” the Israeli response has been disproportionate and “far too many people have died — including so many children.”
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people → say → children
Netanyahu scoffed at Britain and France during his speech, asserting that “Judea-Samaria,” the Israeli government’s term for parts of the Palestinian territories like the West Bank, is the “heart of the historic homeland of the Jewish people,” and accusations of colonialism were unfounded.
“And who’s accusing us?
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who → scoff → us
Well, among them are people in Britain and France — for God’s sake, they invented the term,” he said.
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he → invent → term
Netanyahu directed particular scorn towards Macron, who in his speech said, “Hamas has never operated in the West Bank.”
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Hamas → direct → Bank
The Israeli prime minister mentioned two recent attacks against Israelis in the West Bank, one of whom was a French citizen.
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one → mention → whom
He claimed that no other country of a similar size could fight a seven-front war for three years, listing conflicts currently playing out in theaters like Gaza and Syria against terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
uncertain
country → claim → Hamas
“Israel hammered Hamas, we pummeled Hezbollah — remember the beepers?” he asked before holding up one of the devices used to remotely bomb thousands of Hezbollah affiliates across Syria in 2024.
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he → hammer → 2024
“I can tell you this.
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I → tell → this
Hezbollah certainly remembers them.”
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Hezbollah → remember → them
“The first to do so was Qatar…
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first → do → ?
Their goal was clear — brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America, hate the West,” he said.
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he → brainwash → West
“Now the latest country to become a super spreader of antisemitic lies is Turkey.
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country → become → lies
He also hosts the Hamas terror chiefs.
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He → host → chiefs
He’s murdered thousands of Kurdish civilians.
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He → murder → civilians
He denies the Armenian genocide.
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He → deny → genocide
He jails journalists and opposition leaders.”
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He → jail → journalists
He claimed that “Erdogan calls for Israel’s destruction” and “almost every single day, he says he’s going to be the ruler of Jerusalem,” an apparent reference to one of the Turkish leader’s previous speeches in which he highlighted his nation’s role in the city’s recent history.
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he → claim → history
“In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance,” Erdogan said in 2020.
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Erdogan → have → 2020
Netanyahu recently resurrected this comment in a speech this month at the City of David archeological park in Jerusalem, saying, “It’s not your city.
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It → resurrect → Jerusalem
It’s our city.”
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It → ’ → ?
Erdogan shot back in a speech in Ankara: “I know the resentment of these Hitler imitators will perhaps never fade.
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resentment → shoot → imitators
Let them continue their fits of rage.
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them → let → rage
We, as Muslims, will not take a single step back from our rights over East Jerusalem.”
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We → take → Jerusalem
Zohran Mamdani
Netanyahu’s speech also had one eye on the state of domestic U.S. politics, singling out “the antisemitic mayor of New York” Zohran Mamdani and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker.
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speech → have → York
“Many Jews no longer feel safe in New York […] This isn’t the city we remember.
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we → feel → York
It changed so quickly,” he said.
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he → change → ?
“It’s no wonder — you praise criminals convicted of supporting Hamas, you count as friends people like Hasan Piker who said America deserved 9/11!”
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America → ’ → 9/11
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
