Benjamin Netanyahu Dares 'Moral Cowards' to Leave UN Hall as Dozens Walk Out

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday by daring any remaining "moral cowards" to leave the hall, moments after dozens of delegations filed out in protest as he reached the podium, The Hill said.

The on-mic taunt marks a break from Netanyahu's previous appearance before the body. In September 2025, delegates staged a similar walkout, and the prime minister did not acknowledge it from the podium, leaving Israel's UN ambassador to dismiss the protest afterward as a staged show.

The moment of the walkout was captured in a short clip posted to X by Acyn, the political video account, under the caption "Room empties out at the UN as Netanyahu begins his speech." The roughly 75-second recording contains no remarks from Netanyahu himself. It captures applause from those who stayed, followed by a presiding officer at the session repeatedly calling for order in the hall as the commotion continued.

What Netanyahu Said to the Delegates Who Left

Netanyahu's response came at the top of his speech. "If there are any other moral cowards who haven't yet left this hall, please do so now," he said, according to a transcript of the UN Web TV feed published by the Jewish Virtual Library. Mediaite, which aired the Fox News feed of the moment, rendered the line the same way, followed by "Thank you very much."

He then turned the walkout into an argument for Israel's wars. "In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall," he said, per the same transcript. Addressing both the protesters outside the UN and the envoys who had exited, he asked, "Where were you when the Iranian tyrants butchered and maimed tens of thousands of unarmed Iranian civilians?"

The Hill described "scores of delegates" trooping out and a majority of seats sitting empty afterward, with the hall a mix of cheers, boos and departures. Supporters who remained chanted "Am Yisrael Chai," The New Republic reported, while others stood and applauded the protest.

A Break From Last Year's Silence

The 2025 walkout was organized in advance. The Palestinian mission to the UN circulated a letter urging delegations to exit collectively when Netanyahu was announced and to send as many staff as possible for visual effect, JNS reported on September 25, 2025. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon called the plan "cheap stunts designed to distract from the truth."

When the walkout happened the next day, "Netanyahu was silent during the protest," JNS wrote in its September 26, 2025, roundup, and Danon afterward characterized it as "a show" while stressing that "most of the countries stayed in the General Assembly hall." Danon later told Fox News that "most of the people were not diplomats. They were staffers from hostile missions."

Thursday's approach inverted that posture. Rather than minimizing the protest, Netanyahu named it, mocked it and folded it into his case for the wars in Gaza and Iran.

Polls Show Netanyahu's Standing Abroad and at Home

The combative tone lands as international and American opinion of Netanyahu has fallen. A Pew Research Center survey of 44,657 people in 36 countries, conducted February 8 to May 13, found a median of 67 percent hold an unfavorable view of Israel, against 25 percent favorable, with majorities in most countries lacking confidence in Netanyahu.

In the United States, Pew found in a March 23 to 29 survey of 3,507 adults that 59 percent have little or no confidence in Netanyahu on world affairs, up 7 points from 2025, and 60 percent view Israel unfavorably. Republicans were split, with 45 percent confident in him and 44 percent not. Separately, Gallup's February poll found 41 percent of Americans sympathize more with the Palestinians and 36 percent with the Israelis, the first time since 2001 that Israelis did not lead.

Netanyahu also faces elections later this year, and Al Jazeera reported that the speech was widely read in Israel as aimed at domestic voters.

What Else He Told the Assembly

Beyond the walkout, Netanyahu called the decision to attack Iran "one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make as prime minister," and said, "Accusing Israel of genocide is the greatest lie of the century," according to the UN Web TV transcript. The genocide question has been contested on other shows this week, and the Iran war's unpopularity was the subject of a testy exchange between President Donald Trump and CNN at the UN a day earlier.

He also attacked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani by name. "Shame on you for distorting the facts. Shame on you for inverting victim and aggressor. Shame on you for spitting in the face of truth," he said, per CNN's live coverage.

What Happens Next

of absences three days after the speech. Until then, the only verified measure of the protest is the footage itself.