Chuck Schumer calls for new leadership in Israel and slams Netanyahu

Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish official in the U.S., has called for new leadership and elections in Israel in a stunning rebuke of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Senate Majority leader says Netanyahu has ‘lost his way’ and has now become an ‘obstacle to peace’ five months after the October 7 Hamas attacks and the start of the war in Gaza.

In an extraordinary 40-minute speech on the Senate floor, the longtime defender of Israel said Netanyahu has put himself in a coalition of ‘far-right extremists’ and is more interested in his own political survival than a solution. Schumer said: “As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may.

‘But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice. There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after Oct. 7. “In my opinion, that is best accomplished by holding an election.’ Schumer’s harsh criticism follows moves from President Joe Biden and Democrats to ramp up the pressure on Netanyahu to protect Palestinian civilians as he carries on his offensive.

The Biden administration has also called for a temporary ceasefire to get aid to Palestinians and to allow the release of hostages captured by Hamas. Netanyahu has vowed to carry on fighting until Hamas has been destroyed.

But Democrats have started to question his motives, sparking Schumer to deliver some of the most scathing criticism to date. Schumer added: ‘He (Netanyahu) has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.

‘As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. ‘The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.’ Schumer said the only solution is ‘a demilitarized Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in equal measures of peace, security, prosperity and dignity.’

Netanyahu has rejected the idea of two-state solution because he believes it will allow a Hamas to maintain its presence and threaten the future of Israel. Schumer’s comments sparked an immediate reaction from Republicans who called his speech ‘inappropriate and offensive’. ‘The last thing Israel needs is the “foreign election interference” that Democrats so often decry here,’ Republican Senator Tom Cotton said.

‘Besides, the main elections that worry Chuck Schumer aren’t Israel’s but our elections, because the rampant anti-Semitism that the Democratic Party has allowed to fester in its ranks is massively unpopular with the pro-Israel American public’. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said he would let Schumer ‘speak to his comments’ when asked about the speech.

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