With the Palestinians set to submit their bid for statehood as the U.N. General Assembly convenes this week and leaders from around the world descending on New York, there’s going to be a lot going on. Here’s a rundown of what to expect in the halls of the United Nations, out on the streets and around town. (Follow breaking news with JTA on our politics blog, Capital J.
Monday: Pregame
The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Israel Action Network will unveil a petition signed by 100,000 people opposing unilateral Palestinian statehood.
Tuesday: Kickoff
The U.N. General Assembly formally opens.
Rabbi Avi Weiss and others from AMCHA: The Coalition of Jewish concerns, plan to block traffic at the intersection of 40th Street and First Avenue starting at 10 a.m.
Students from Columbia University’s International Relations Council and Association are invited to a private dinner with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It’s not clear how many students, if any, will be attending. Neither the university nor its president are involved in the event.
Wednesday: Protests
President Obama is scheduled to address the assembly, after meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the morning.
Opponents of the so-called Durban III conference — to mark the 10th anniversary of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in 2001 in Durban, South Africa, which turned into an anti-Israel hate-fest — will hold a protest demonstration opposite the U.N. building at noon. Most major Jewish organizations withdrew from the rally in an effort not to call attention to the conference and out of concern about its organizer, the Jerusalem Institute for Justice run by Calev Myers, a reputed "messianic Jew."
B’nai Brith International is holding a panel to discuss global anti-Semitism ten years after Durban. Participants include former New York Mayor Ed Koch, Special Envoy on Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, and Conference of Presidents Vice Chairman Malcom Hoenlein. 6 PM, New York Marriot East Side.
Thursday: Durban III Day
The U.N. General Assembly will hold a conference marking the 10th anniversary of the Durban confab. About a dozen nations have announced they will boycott the conference out of concern for an inordinate focus on Israel-bashing.
Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly.
The Zionist organization StandWithUs will hold a "Durban 3-Ring Circus Rally" at noon at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, opposite the U.N. building, to "show that Durban III and the United Nations are a complete joke."
Iran180, a group organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, will perform street theater protesting Ahmadinejad’s presence at the United Nations.
Opponents of the Durban III process will have an online counter-conference called "The Perils of Global Intolerance: The United Nations and Durban III."
Friday: Statehood?
The Palestinian Authority will submit its bid for statehood to the U.N. Security Council.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the U.N. General Assembly.
Supporters of the Palestinian bid for statehood may hold rallies near the United Nations; word is still out on whether or not they will get permits.
Sunday, Sept. 25
The American Zionist Movement and the World Zionist Organization will hold a conference in Manhattan addressing delegitimization and anti-Semitism.
Monday, Sept. 26
A delegation of U.S. senators and congressmen will speak at an event outside the United Nations against unilateral Palestinian statehood.
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