Around a hundred leftwing Jews and Palestinians gathered in front of the United Nations (UN) building in New York on Tuesday night to protest against the closeness of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu who are both appearing at the General Assembly.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the protestors were concerned by the relationship between the Israeli prime minister and the US president, who met earlier this week in New York and have been lavishing praise on one another in recent days.
They carried signs that portrayed Trump and Netanyahu as one and the same, and rallied against the seemingly symbiotic relationship between both leaders' policy, Haaretz reported.
'It was important for me to be here today, because Trump's administration is a reflection of Netanyahu's administration,' said Gabby Spear, from Jewish Voice for Peace. 'Their colonialism and racism are intertwined. They feed off each other. Trump is inspired by Netanyahu's enforcement of surveillance in Gaza.'
The protest was organized by Jewish Solidarity Caucus (JVP), and Students for Palestine, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, and a dozen other Jewish and Palestinian groups.
The Jewish and Palestinian activists were met by a counter protest made up of a few activists from the rightwing Jewish Defense League, who waved the Israeli flag and carried a sign saying, 'Thank God for Trump'.
The two groups exchanged insults across the police barricades, before marching towards Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan despite the rain, Haaretz reported.
Among the protesters were both young students and elderly Jewish activists who were not affiliated with any of the organising groups.
Keisha Stanley, a 25 year old student, came to the protest, accompanied by a friend, because she was concerned by Netanyahu's visit to New York. 'Netanyahu is here, meeting with Trump, one leader from an unlawful regime is coming to visit another', she said.
'Netanyahu is oppressing the brown people of Palestine, with force, as Trump is doing in the US with White Supremacy, and both leaders have to be stopped. Their relationship is fitting, they both believe in the oppression with force, so it's no surprise to me that they get along.'
