The United Nations published this morning (Thursday) the schedule for the last day of the UN General Assembly, which will also include a speech by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. According to the order of speakers, Netanyahu will be the second speaker in the assembly, following the speech by North Macedonia's President Stevo Pendarovski. As a result, Netanyahu's speech is expected to begin around 16:15 Israel time (9:15 AM New York time).
Netanyahu's speech tomorrow will be his first speech at the UN General Assembly in 3 years and the first time he speaks in the New York assembly since 2018. As a reminder, in 2019, Netanyahu did not attend the assembly due to the proximity to the Israeli legislative elections for the 22nd Knesset, and then-Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz traveled there instead. In 2020, the UN General Assembly took place in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 restrictions, and Netanyahu delivered a pre-recorded speech from Jerusalem.
In 2021, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attended the UN General Assembly, and his speech was scheduled for the first day of the assembly, which coincided with the eve of the Simchat Torah holiday in that year. In contrast to Netanyahu, who used to deliver his speeches in the evening hours in Israel, Bennett's speech was scheduled for the afternoon and concluded shortly before the holiday began in Israel. Last year, Prime Minister Yair Lapid attended the UN General Assembly, and his speech was scheduled for the evening hours, similar to Netanyahu's practice.
