NEW YORK CITY — Progressive Jewish organizations have planned a protest at a plaza outside the United Nations next week following Israeli media reports that Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's National Security Minister, would attend a conference on policing. These groups have also circulated an open letter calling on New York State Attorney General Letitia James to prosecute Ben-Gvir for war crimes upon his arrival.

A staffer for the Consulate General of Israel in New York wrote in an email on Thursday that "Minister Ben-Gvir is not coming to New York at the moment." A United Nations official confirmed on Thursday that Ben-Gvir had not yet registered for the UN Chiefs of Police Summit, which is scheduled for July 7 and 8. The minister could still register for the summit in the coming days.

Ben-Gvir leads the Otzma Yehudit party. Before becoming a member of the Knesset, he was convicted of supporting a terrorist group and other offenses. He has advocated for policies such as renewed Jewish settlement in Gaza and has been sanctioned for allegedly inciting extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, head of T'ruah, said, "It's really important for people, both American Jews and Israelis, to say that extremists like Ben-Gvir aren't accepted in our community." She added, "He just doesn't belong in New York, or in the Israeli government, or espousing his views anywhere in Jewish society." T'ruah is co-organizing a protest outside the UN summit on Tuesday, alongside groups including New York Jewish Agenda, J Street, Israelis for Peace, and the Union for Reform Judaism. Jewish Voice for Peace is promoting a separate protest scheduled later at the same plaza.

The open letter calling for James to prosecute Ben-Gvir has accumulated more than 6,500 signatures. Ben-Gvir visited New York City just over a year ago, visiting 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, the headquarters of the Chabad Hasidic movement, the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and a Midwood kosher restaurant. A number of other planned events during that trip were canceled the week prior. A coalition of liberal Jewish groups held a rally last year outside a Wall Street restaurant where Ben-Gvir was speaking. During that rally, New York Rep. Jerry Nadler introduced legislation aimed at combating settler violence in the West Bank.

Ben-Gvir canceled a recent trip to the U.S. for a wedding after he was asked to provide his fingerprints to obtain a visa. Ben-Gvir characterized this request as "a moment when antisemitism triumphed over common sense."