Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday made an unusual demand for Israel to hold new elections aimed at ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is hated by the Biden administration and Democrats.
NBC report:
“After October 7, the Netanyahu coalition no longer meets Israel’s needs,” Schumer, the top Jewish official in the United States, said in remarks on the Senate floor.
“The world has fundamentally changed since then, and the people of Israel are now oppressed by a vision of governance stuck in the past,” Schumer said in what was billed as a grand address by Democratic leaders from New York. I mentioned it in the.
Mr. Schumer went on to say that Prime Minister Netanyahu “has lost his way by putting his own political survival ahead of Israel’s best interests.” Schumer said Netanyahu is aligned with “far-right extremists” such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who have “driven support for Israel around the world to historic lows.” “It’s raising the bar.”
Schumer has long been a critic of Netanyahu and attacked him in a speech against anti-Semitism in November. But Thursday’s statement goes further, brazenly interfering in Israel’s democratic politics, and any action taken by a foreign country against the United States would be condemned as foreign election interference.
Prime Minister Netanyahu was briefly replaced by a centre-left coalition, but returned to politics and was elected in November 2022 with a right-wing coalition, the largest majority in the Jewish state’s recent electoral history.
Democrats have been angry with Netanyahu ever since he publicly opposed President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The agreement gave the Iranian regime billions of dollars for terrorist activities and, even with full compliance, would have allowed Iran to emerge as a nuclear power in about a decade. Along with trading conditions. Prime Minister Netanyahu also opposes President Joe Biden’s proposal to establish a Palestinian state as a result of the current war started by Hamas terrorists. Prime Minister Netanyahu also pushed back against Biden’s warning not to attack Hamas in the city of Rafah.
President Biden has refused to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu after his election in November 2022 in an effort to isolate him. Biden softened his stance toward Netanyahu in September 2023, as the prospect of a Saudi-Israeli peace deal suggested he could claim a rare foreign policy achievement. He also visited Israel in October after the Hamas attack.
But recently, Biden has publicly criticized Netanyahu for “hurting” Israel rather than “helping” him. Last week, Biden was taken to the microphone to say he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he needed a meeting, telling him to “come to Jesus.” And Vice President Kamala Harris last week signaled a desire to oust Netanyahu, saying it was important to distinguish between the Israeli government and the Israeli people, as if the latter had recently elected the former.
Israelis responded to pressure from Biden and rallied behind Netanyahu, whose poll numbers have rebounded since October 7. Many Israelis believe that Mr. Netanyahu is the only leader with the courage to stand up to Mr. Biden’s bad policies.
Prime Minister Netanyahu noted that Israelis also agree with Biden in opposing his policies. (So do most Americans.) He also said that only Israeli citizens and voters have the right to decide for themselves who will lead the country.
A frustrated Mr. Biden appears to be turning to allies in Congress to push his message of ousting Prime Minister Netanyahu. Mr. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jew in American politics and who has described himself in Congress as Israel’s “guardian” (while supporting Obama and Biden’s pressure on Israel), said Mr. Netanyahu had no US backing. The aim is to send a signal that there is no such thing.
But Mr. Schumer is not representative of Jews or Americans in this regard, and his attacks are likely to embolden Hamas and Iran.
update: era of israel report The White House has sought to distance itself from Schumer’s comments, at least publicly, with Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog saying: Panned Schumer was accused of interfering in Israel’s internal affairs.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of the recent book, The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Participate in It), now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
