Netanyahu's Solo UN Spotlight: Why Trump Snubbed Israel's PM With Election on the Line

Netanyahu's brief visit to the city also demonstrated how isolated he is on the global stage three years after launching a punishing war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. He faces an election next month that is widely seen as a referendum on his responsibility for the security failures surrounding the attacks and his ability to defend Israel's reputation on the world stage.

Day after day this week, as other heads of state have stepped to the podium, many of them have harshly criticized Israel's actions, particularly in Gaza. Ahead of his visit, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged his arrest, saying the U.S. should honor a warrant for Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court. He is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Gaza, though the United States is not a member of the court and New York City lacks the specific authority to arrest him.

Still, the prime minister is a master showman who often turns to props and visual aids during his speeches in flawless English to drive home his message. Last year at the summit, scores of diplomats walked out while he was speaking. However, that scenario is unlikely to faze him, as he speaks primarily to an audience of Israeli voters.

"He times his speech so that it is broadcast here in primetime," said Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. who served under Netanyahu and lives in Israel.

United States President Donald Trump speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters on a Tuesday in September 2026. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig.

Experts say that without the usual high-profile meetings, the trip could hurt Netanyahu’s image at home. "I think the trip is a mistake, because it exposes his weaknesses," said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations and a professor at Israel’s Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities.

While many Israelis view the United Nations as hostile toward Israel, Gilboa added that the fact that Netanyahu could not secure a meeting with President Trump only highlights how poorly Netanyahu has managed the relationship with his nation's strongest ally. In 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden was reluctant to host Netanyahu at the White House but still made time to sit down with him on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

A person holds a sign during a protest ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, on a Thursday in September 2026, in New York. Credit: AP/Madison Swart.

"Israel cannot survive without the United States," Gilboa said. The perceived slight in New York follows sharp criticism from Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel and a longtime supporter of Israeli settlements, regarding the settlers attacking Palestinian communities in the West Bank. In unusual remarks for an ambassador, Huckabee referred to the attackers as "terrorists."

"It’s significant of a deeper rift," Oren said of Netanyahu's slim itinerary.

When Trump was in New York on Tuesday, he met with an array of leaders from Arab nations, as well as from Denmark, Japan, Greenland, Ukraine, and Venezuela, among others. He then quickly returned to Washington to roll out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping. For a leader who likes to portray himself as a global statesman, this is a "big, big miss for him at a time where he can’t afford misses," Natan Sachs, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said of Netanyahu.

On other past trips, Netanyahu met with a slate of high-profile leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

This year, though, the prime minister's office said "many world leaders" asked to meet with Netanyahu during his brief visit, but that he was on a "tight schedule" and needed to return to Israel before the start of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which begins at sundown on Friday.

On his schedule, the statement said, were leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, Ethiopia, Greece, Slovenia, and Papua New Guinea. The isolation of the Israeli leader in the heart of global diplomacy serves as a stark backdrop to his upcoming electoral battle.

First reported by Newsday.