‘The world refuses Washington and Netanyahu’s distorted view’

This is apropos a letter to the Editor titled “The world refuses Washington and Netanyahu’s distorted view” carried by the newspaper on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and yesterday.

His attack on New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani made that arrogance unmistakable. Netanyahu accused him of supporting Hamas, which Mamdani denied. A visiting prime minister has no mandate to supervise American democracy or dictate whom New Yorkers should elect. He may answer criticism, but his office grants him no authority over the city’s mayor. Americans owe a foreign leader neither political obedience nor silence. Friendship between countries cannot mean that American politicians become acceptable only when they satisfy the government of Israel.

Outside the United Nations, that criticism had a distinctly American voice. Protesters demanded an end to the arming of Israel and called for Palestinians and Iranians to be allowed to live. Police detained demonstrators, including actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder, congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, and city council member Chi Ossé. These were people exercising their right to challenge policies supported by their own government.

Their presence shattered any convenient equation between Washington’s policy and unanimous American consent. Netanyahu could praise Trump inside the chamber; he could not make the dissent outside disappear. Americans are entitled to question where their weapons go, what their taxes sustain, and whether their country’s alliances advance peace or perpetuate destruction. No visiting leader can legitimately demand exemption from those questions.

His assault on Western governments followed the same pattern. Britain, France, and Canada had announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements. Netanyahu accused their leaders of surrendering to antisemitic mobs. Measures directed at settlements became, in his telling, evidence of moral collapse. But opposition to settlement expansion does not constitute hatred of Jews. Antisemitism must be confronted; it cannot become a shield against scrutiny of state policy.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026