Protesters Say No to Netanyahu Speech

A small group of activists protested on Tuesday in front of the Israeli Consulate in midtown against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, accusing him of tampering with the diplomatic process and setting back the cause of peace.

“Why did representative Boehner invite a foreign leader and not go through normal diplomatic channels inviting Netanyahu to speak to a joint session in Congress?” said Laurie Arbeiter, 56, an activist with group We Will Not Be Silent.

About ten group members marched to the consulate from Times Square chanting, “Negotiate, don’t escalate,” and “Netanyahu cries for war, we say no more.” The group attracted attention from the police, who ordered them to protest across the street with additional group members already gathered there and not directly in front of entrance.

After ignoring police orders, the sidewalk was closed off on the corner of 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue for the group to continue protesting.

In his speech to Congress, where he spoke against a potential nuclear deal between the United States and Iran, Netanyahu said, “This deal won’t be a farewell to arms. It would be a farewell to arms control. And the Middle East would soon be crisscrossed by nuclear tripwires. A region where small skirmishes can trigger big wars would turn into a nuclear tinderbox.”

With Israel and the United States “fully armed with every kind of weapon to destroy everything in the face of this earth,” Arbeiter said, “I don’t think we can afford as humans in 2015, where we stand now, with the way in which … we have a nuclear arms race.”

Retired educator Betty Davis, 70, said she feels bullied by Netanyahu because he wants to “embarrass this country because he feels that they are not pro-Israel enough…Every time these bullies want to impose their message on the world, they come here and they get the money to do it. I’m sick of this. It’s enough already.”

Davis added, “Netanyahu comes here, doesn’t even respect the President enough to let him know that he’s coming.”