Members of Hofstra University’s Student Voices for Palestine (SVP) marched from Times Square to the United Nations (UN) Headquarters on Sept. 26 in the “Arrest Netanyahu” protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to speak at the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly that morning. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. SVP among other protestors wanted Netanyahu to know he is not welcome in New York.
Members of SVP chanted in sync with other protestors and speakers in Times Square before the march. Protestors responded to the news that dozens of UN member-country representatives walked out before Netanyahu’s speech with cheers.
Speaking to an almost empty room, Netanyahu condemned nations that recognized Palestinian statehood. United States allies France, Canada and The United Kingdom had formally recognized Palestine’s statehood earlier in the week. President Donald Trump labeled the move as rewarding Hamas’ acts of terrorism.
“[Member countries] can stake out positions and say that what the UN is doing is not what we [want to] do in this certain issue,” said Paul Fritz, associate professor of political science at Hofstra, while discussing the importance of world leader speeches. “That’s an important signal that President Trump and Netanyahu were sending.”
The ICC issued a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest on Nov. 21, 2024. Fritz explained the U.S. and Israel are not members of the ICC, therefore have no legal obligation to detain and send Netanyahu to where he could be tried.
Speakers made references to Italy’s 24-hour “let’s block everything” strike in support of Gaza that occurred on Sept. 22. The strike was spurred by Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a group of 44 civilian boats sailing to bring aid to Gaza. Protesters in Italy closed major roadways and schools. Dockworkers shut down major ports, blocking the flow of weapons to Israel, according to The Nation. Italy is the third largest supplier of weapons to the state, behind Germany and the U.S. Israeli officials called the flotilla a “stunt.”
Speaker Francesca Maria of the Democratic Socialists of America, encouraged Americans to keep fighting, saying no one in Italy knew they could do this until they did.
“After decades of imperialism, this fight, this subservience to the United States, this fighting action of every major party, this paralysis in the face of rising fascism, today, thanks to Palestine, thanks to Gaza we are up from our knees and we are standing,” Maria said.
Türkiye, Spain, Italy and Greece all took part in protecting and monitoring the international flotilla sailing to Gaza on Sept. 29. Activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla accused the Italian frigate escorting the flotilla of attempting to sabotage the mission. Israeli forces have prevented all vessels from reaching Gaza as of Friday, Oct. 3. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in over 100 cities in Italy on the third as another general strike was launched.
Protesters, including SVP members, marched from Times Square to the UN Headquarters, where the general assembly was taking place, bookmarked by two rallies featuring speakers from various organizations.
Django Buenz, SVP public relations chair and junior political science major, posted the protest information on SVP’s Instagram and their GroupMe, encouraging members to “exercise their free speech.” At least six SVP members were in attendance.
“The point of a protest or a demonstration like the one on Friday is to bring in people who were just walking down the street or normies who think that genocide is bad,” Buenz said. “They can join in these protests and that’s how we bring in numbers.”
SVP Secretary and senior music business major Avigayil Fischman-Charry said she protests because of a visit to what she called Palestine, recognized by most of the world as Israel, with her high school after graduation. She said she witnessed Palestinians and Israelis avoiding each other in malls and saw checkpoints only Palestinians had to go through. She added that she did not want to endorse such conditions and started the process of deprogramming, becoming a non-Zionist and later an anti-Zionist.
“I’m scared,” Fischman-Charry said regarding the experience. “I feel like I don’t have permission to do anything partially because I’m Jewish and I was raised in a Zionist environment. Joining this movement would mean that I would have to experience a lot of loss.”
During the Spring 2024 semester, SVP led an on-campus protest. Fischman-Charry said she planned to only watch from the sidelines.
“I saw one of the e-board members at the time … who I knew to be Jewish, who was helping to lead the protest,” Fischman-Charry said. “I go, ‘If this person, who is Jewish, can lead a pro-Palestine protest on campus then I for sure can sit in that protest as a protestor.’ So, I crossed the line, I sat in the protest and I never looked back.”
Now, Fischman-Charry regularly protests in both New York and her home city, Washington, D.C.
SVP conducts protests on Hofstra’s campus and encourages students to attend off-campus protests. The organization also hosts Palestinian culture, movie and poetry nights. All of these are open to all Hofstra students.
“We try to express Palestinian joy as well as spread the message that you are not helpless [against] this genocide,” Buenz said.
Hamas killed about 1200 Israelis in their attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and
As of Oct. 5, 47 hostages remain in Gaza. Israeli Defense Forces have killed at least 66,225 Palestinians with at least 168,938 people injured since then.
Updated as of Oct. 16. Previous version of this story had “Palestine, formally known as Israel,” as a quote attributed to Avigayil Fischman-Charry. It was not a direct, it was a clarification. It now reads “what she called Palestine, recognized by most of the world as Israel”.
Einstien • Oct 30, 2025 at 9:41 pm
Do you know who else is not a signatory for the Rome Statue and the ICC? Qatar.
Do you know where the leadership of Hamas is living? Qatar.
Do you know who was charged by the ICC?
“Mohammed Deif: On November 21, 2024, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, the commander-in-chief of Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. He is charged with both war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, taking hostages, and sexual violence.”
Do you think that Qatar twill turn over Mohammed Deif to the ICC?