Top Democrat Schumer calls for new elections in Israel, saying Netanyahu has ‘lost his way’
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Israel to hold new elections, saying he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost his way” over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and the growing humanitarian crisis there.
Schumer, the first Jewish majority leader in the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, will strongly criticize Netanyahu in a lengthy speech in the Senate on Thursday morning. In prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press, Schumer said the prime minister has placed himself in a coalition of far-right extremists and “as a result, has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is increasing support for Israel. worldwide to historic lows.”
“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer will say.
The speech comes as a growing number of Democrats have pushed back against Israel and as President Joe Biden has increased public pressure on Netanyahu’s government, warning that he must pay more attention to the number of civilian casualties in Gaza. The US this month began airdrops of desperately needed humanitarian aid and announced it will set up a temporary pier to get more aid to Gaza by sea.
Schumer has thus far positioned himself as a strong ally of the Israeli government. He visited the country just days after the brutal Hamas attack on October 7 and delivered a lengthy speech in the Senate in December in which he condemned “brazen and widespread anti-Semitism the likes of which we have not seen in this country for generations, or even never.”
But he will say in the Senate on Thursday that the “Israeli people are currently being oppressed by a government vision that is stuck in the past.”
Schumer says Netanyahu, who has long opposed Palestinian statehood, is one of many obstacles standing in the way of the two-state solution pushed by the United States. He also blames right-wing Israelis, Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Until they are all removed from the equation, he says, “there will never be peace in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.”
Schumer says the United States cannot dictate the outcome of an election in Israel, but “new elections are the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about Israel’s future, at a time when so many Israelis have lost.” their confidence in the vision and direction of their government.”
It is unclear how Schumer’s unusually direct call will be received in Israel. The next parliamentary elections are expected in 2026, but could also take place earlier.
Many Israelis hold Netanyahu responsible for failing to stop Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and his popularity appears to have taken a hit as a result.
US priorities in the region are increasingly hampered by Netanyahu’s cabinet, which is dominated by ultranationalists. The far-right cabinet members share Netanyahu’s opposition to Palestinian statehood and other goals that successive U.S. administrations have seen as essential to resolving long-term Palestinian-Israeli conflicts.
While speaking to lawmakers after his State of the Union address, Biden promised a “come to Jesus” moment with Netanyahu.
And Vice President Kamala Harris, Schumer and other lawmakers met in Washington last week with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet and a much more popular rival of Netanyahu — a visit that drew a rebuke from the Israeli prime minister.
Gantz joined Netanyahu’s government in the War Cabinet shortly after the Hamas attacks. But Gantz is expected to leave the government once the fiercest fighting ends, signaling that the period of national unity is over. A return to mass demonstrations could increase pressure on Netanyahu’s deeply unpopular coalition to hold early elections.
Schumer said that if Israel tightens its control over Gaza and the West Bank and creates a “de facto single state,” there should be no reasonable expectation that Hamas and their allies will lay down their arms. It could mean an ongoing war, he said.
“As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we must let the chips fall where they may,” Schumer said. “But the most important thing is that Israelis are given a choice.”