ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
This morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.N. General Assembly. Before he spoke, dozens of delegates walked out in protest to a standing ovation.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Please, order in the hall.
SHAPIRO: When those cheers faded, Netanyahu spoke to mostly empty seats.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Much of the world no longer remembers October 7, but we remember. Israel remembers October 7. Well, I'll tell you, you can remember October 7, too.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
He went on to explain a pin on his lapel with a QR code, leading to a site with galleries of graphic images of October 7 victims.
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NETANYAHU: I've surrounded Gaza with massive loudspeakers connected to this microphone in the hope that our dear hostages will hear my message.
CHANG: In Hebrew, then English.
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NETANYAHU: We will not falter and we will not rest until we bring all of you home.
SHAPIRO: Netanyahu went on to say the speech was also being delivered to the phones of Gazans. But here's NPR reporter Anas Baba in Gaza earlier today.
ANAS BABA, BYLINE: In Gaza City now, the only thing that we can hear here is the Israeli airstrikes, the artilleries and the tanks firing here.
CHANG: Netanyahu vowed to, quote, "finish the job" against Hamas and directly scolded leaders of countries that recently announced recognition of a Palestinian state.
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NETANYAHU: It will be a mark of shame on all of you.
SHAPIRO: NPR international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam reports on the increased isolation Israel is facing with boycotts and bans due to its war in Gaza.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Hamas militants attacked Israel in October 2023, there was widespread shock and sympathy for the country. Nearly two years on, that's morphed into anger across many parts of the world.
HUGH LOVATT: It's absolutely clear that we are witnessing quite a fundamental shift in not just European or Western, but I would say global perceptions of Israel.
NORTHAM: Hugh Lovatt is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, based in London. He says, till now, most of the calls have come from protesters and activists, but that's changing.
LOVATT: And we are seeing, especially in Europe now, a lot of European governments finally catching up with public opinion, feeling the pressure and taking at least some actions against Israel.
NORTHAM: This week, France, the U.K. and Canada became the latest of about 150 other nations calling for a Palestinian state. The European Union, Israel's largest trading partner, is debating whether to suspend a trade agreement and restrict some visas. Earlier this month, large protests forced the stoppage of a premier cycling event in Spain. Aaron David Miller, a former peace negotiator now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says protests are growing across many venues.
AARON DAVID MILLER: Any number of music and art festivals - you now have Hollywood boycotts of Israeli film producers. All of that has undermined and tarnished the Israeli brand.
NORTHAM: Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and others announced they will boycott next year's Eurovision song contest if Israel is allowed to participate as planned. Israel's contestants for the past couple of years were booed on stage, including Eden Golan, heard here, which went viral on social media.
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NORTHAM: Hugh Lovatt says it may be a song contest, but Eurovision is a big deal for Israel.
LOVATT: This is an important cultural event, an important legitimizer of Israel and Israeli sense of being accepted and integrated in Europe and in the world.
NORTHAM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears unmoved by the growing international isolation. In a speech last week, he claimed that Israel could become a super Sparta.
ALON LIEL: It's crazy. It's simply crazy.
NORTHAM: Alon Liel is a former director general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He says Netanyahu's call to become a radically self-sufficient, militarized nation has backfired.
LIEL: It frightened the people here. It frightened the business people. And especially, I think it annoyed the international community. Who wants such a country around?
NORTHAM: Miller, with Carnegie, says despite the outrage and pressure, nothing has swayed Netanyahu's far-right government.
MILLER: As isolated as Israel is, the Europeans, the Arab states, the United States and the international community writ large have failed to impose a single cost or consequence on the current Israeli government.
NORTHAM: Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain, says the difference in standards is striking.
HASAN ALHASAN: European nations and the United States were much quicker to impose far-reaching sanctions on Russia for an illegal invasion of Ukraine but have so far lagged behind in holding Israel to account.
NORTHAM: Just last week, Israel launched a major new military offensive against Gaza City, which is sure to deepen Israel's global isolation. Alhasan again.
ALHASAN: They will consolidate their territorial gains, and then in - you know, in a few years time, people will forget, and then they can pursue the path of normalization once again. I think this is what they're betting on.
NORTHAM: On the other hand, Alhasan says, this could haunt Israel for a very long time. Jackie Northam, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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