Chuck Schumer Will Always Be Pro-Genocide
Chuck Schumer and I grew up in the same neighborhood of Brooklyn and went to the same elementary and high schools. We didn’t go to the same synagogue but we ate in the same deli. And our grandparents were— metaphorically-speaking— from the same shetls in the Pale, the part of the Russian Empire where Jews were allowed to reside (mostly modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania and eastern Poland). And we both grew up in a milieu that extolled Israeli Jews as heroes and dehumanized Arabs. Jen Perelman, the progressive Democratic congressional candidate taking on conservative Zionist Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Broward County, has spoken about the phenomenon eloquently.
For all the whining about Congress not passing military aid budgets for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, only Ukraine and Taiwan are losing out. Israel is receiving U.S. military equipment and ammunition to help its genocide campaign in Gaza every 36 hours— Biden, Schumer, MAGA Mike and Hakeem Jeffries are making sure of that. Only something between a quarter and a third of American voters are supportive of America’s role in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza but “Israel’s assault on Gaza,” wrote Stephen Semler of the Security Policy Reform Institute, “continues because Biden thinks it should continue. If he thought otherwise, he would shut down the weapons pipeline he constructed to enable it.”
Yesterday, Schumer’s office hyped a big announcement he would make. It was some more bullshit the Democrats cooked up to take the genocide onus off them, primarily because Democratic voters have figured out the scam and are telling pollsters they don’t approve of the job Biden is doing. There is genuine fear in the Democratic establishment that enough Democratic voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania will stay home that Trump will bounce back into the White House despite having an agenda far, far worse than Biden’s.
Schumer’s announcement was not the cessation of arms shipments to Israel— not even close. It was just some p.r. concoction calling for Netanyahu to step down as prime minister. Introducing himself as “a guardian of the people of Israel,” he surely ran it by Netanyahu (via AIPAC) in advance to be sure it wasn’t in any way harmful. NBC called it “the most significant criticism made by a U.S. leader against the Israeli government since its war with Hamas began,” showing the success of the p.r. outreach, especially coming from “the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S.” NBC also noted that Schumer “expressed support for a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, as President Joe Biden has been pushing for, saying it ‘would allow for the return of hostages and humanitarian relief of suffering Palestinians.’ He said he's against a permanent cease-fire because he said it would only allow Hamas to ‘regroup and launch further attacks on Israeli civilians. There can never be a two-state solution if Hamas has any significant power,’ he said.” It could easily have been written by AIPAC or even the Likud.
I didn’t mean to single out NBC News. The NY Times— and pretty much everyone else in the media— fell for the same shtik, as sadly transparent as it was.
Many Democratic lawmakers have condemned Netanyahu’s leadership and his right-wing governing coalition, and President Biden has even criticized the Israeli military’s offensive in Gaza as “over the top.” But Schumer’s speech amounted to the sharpest critique yet from a senior American elected official— effectively urging Israelis to replace Netanyahu.
“I believe in his heart, his highest priority is the security of Israel,” said Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States. “However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.”
He added: “He has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.”
Schumer’s speech was the latest reflection of the growing dissatisfaction among Democrats, particularly progressives, with Israel’s conduct of the war and its toll on Palestinian civilians, which has created a strategic and political dilemma for Biden. Republicans have tried to capitalize on that dynamic, hugging Netanyahu closer as Democrats repudiate him.
The majority leader’s remarks came a day after Senate Republicans invited Netanyahu to speak as their special guest at a party retreat in Washington. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican, invited Netanyahu to address Republicans virtually, but he could not appear because of a last-minute scheduling conflict. Ambassador Michael Herzog, Israel’s envoy to the United States, spoke in his place.
Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) took Schumer at face value. He told Punchbowl after the speech, “It’s a new era. It’s the beginning, I believe. How can we continue pretending that we back our policies when we’re saying yes to Netanyahu no matter how much he disregards them? We’re for a two-state solution, he’s against it. We’re for stopping settlements in the West Bank, Netanyahu is for it.” And Lindsey Graham was clutching his pearls and wailing, “What [Schumer] said today was earth-shatteringly bad. The majority leader of the United States Senate is calling on the people of Israel to overthrow their government.” Overthrown is a strong word and what Schumer called for— and most Israelis want— are new elections.
Please consider contributing to progressives who are under attack from AIPAC here. And, here, if you can stomach it, watch the cornball schlemiel from Kings Highway for yourself; I'd bet that this speech is not going to be be parodied on SNL this weekend: