JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli and U.S. leaders reacted to what some are calling an unprecedented call by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for new elections in Israel.
Schumer wants elections to Israelis can replace the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The comments came in the face of the worst crisis the Jewish people have faced since the Holocaust.
Schumer called on the Senate floor Thursday for a change in Israel’s government because he believes Netanyahu has lost his way.
The New York Democrat said, “By allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interest of Israel, (the) Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7th. The world has changed radically since then.”
Schumer’s speech comes as a growing number of Democrats are urging the Biden administration to step up public pressure on Israel. The Senate leader said Netanyahu has put himself in a coalition of “far right” extremists, and has a result has been too willing to tolerate the toll of the war on Gaza civilians.
“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer stated.
Netanyahu responded in a statement, saying Israel expects Schumer “to refrain from undermining the Israeli government.”
Other reactions were more pointed.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog posted on X, “Israel is a sovereign country. It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the political scene of a democratic ally.”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said of Schumer’s comments, “We are an independent nation, not a banana republic.”
Moments after the speech, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) slammed Schumer.
“It’s just plain wrong for an American leader to play such a divisive role in Israeli politics while our closest ally in the region is in an existential battle for its very survival,” Johnson declared.
Several Senate Republican leaders also strongly criticized the comments.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina) called it “earth-shattering bad” and said to Schumer, “You’ve done a lot of damage, my friend, and you need to fix this.”
Referring to the frequent charges by Democrats that Russia and other nations have interfered in American elections, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) responded with a biblical analogy, saying, “Chuck Schumer should remove the log in his own party’s eye before he whines about the speck in Israel’s eye.”
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) observed, “In the last 24 hours, Joe Biden and Biden officials have given Iran a $10 billion sanctions waiver, sanctioned Israeli Jews, and said that Israel’s top priority should be aiding Gazans. Now Democrat leader Schumer is calling for the overthrow of Israel’s government.”
In a more measured tone, Democrat Senator Ben Cardin stated, “As allies and friends, we must support the Israeli people in their efforts to shape their own destiny, and chart the course of their post-war nation.”
In the meantime, the military campaign to defeat Hamas hinges on Israel entering Rafah, the last stronghold of the terrorist group in Gaza.
Despite enormous pressure from the U.S. and other nations, Netanyahu pledged Israel will go on.
“I will continue to repel the pressures and we will enter Rafah; we will complete the elimination of the remaining Hamas battalions; we will restore security and bring absolute victory to the people of Israel and the state of Israel,” he said.
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