Major Jewish groups announce NYC rally against antisemitism during UN General Assembly

Major Jewish groups in New York City announce a rally against antisemitism to be held during the UN General Assembly later this month.

The rally aims to “call on world leaders to act decisively to stop the growing tide of antisemitism.”

“Tell world leaders — no more excuses,” say the protest advertisements.

The rally is organized by a broad swath of large communal organizations, some of which do not frequently sign onto protests.

Organizers include the UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Conference of Presidents, the Union for Reform Judaism, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Yeshiva University, the Israeli American Council and StandWithUs.

The protest will take place at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, across from the United Nations headquarters in midtown Manhattan, on September 23, at the beginning of the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Week, in which world leaders address the UN.

The protest will take place the day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN. Earlier this year, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani denounced Netanyahu as a “war criminal” while lamenting that New York lacked the authority to arrest the premier on an International Criminal Court warrant.

The rally reflects growing frustration in the New York Jewish community about antisemitism. There has been an uptick in protests against antisemitism in the past year, as organizations and activists transitioned from rallying to release the hostages in Gaza to demonstrating for local Jewish concerns.

Yesterday, the pro-Israel activist groups EndJewHatred and the Lawfare Project protested near the offices of the far-left, anti-Israel Democratic Socialists of America in Manhattan.

Organizers say in a statement that several hundred people attended.

The protesters demanded that Mamdani and New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels implement a mandatory curriculum on the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Speakers, including New Yorkers who lost family in the terror attacks 25 years ago, decried Mamdani’s friendly ties with anti-Israel streamer Hasan Piker, who said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.”

Mamdani has called that comment “objectionable and reprehensible” and has said he will attend the memorial.