It was a momentous occasion in modern US-Israel relations.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — the highest-ranking Jewish American in the US government and for decades a staunch supporter of Israel — delivered a speech that sent shockwaves from Washington to Jerusalem.
Schumer called for a new election in Israel and warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ultra-right-wing government was preventing the "significant course corrections" needed in the war against Hamas. He also voiced support for a two-state solution to the long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, a position that Netanyahu has rejected. While placing the lion's share of the blame for the civilian carnage of the Gaza war on Hamas, which launched October 7 terrorist attacks inside Israel, he said that Israel had a moral imperative to do far more to protect innocent Palestinian lives.
"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. "Five months into this conflict, it is clear that Israelis need to take stock of the situation and ask: Must we change course?" he continued. "At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government."
Schumer's comments laid bare the increasing tension between Democrats and the Israeli leader and the now gaping partisan divide over Israel between the two parties in the United States.
Schumer was almost immediately accused of deserting a US ally in a time of war and of trying to interfere in Israeli politics. Netanyahu's Likud party, for instance, said pointedly in a statement that Schumer is "expected to respect Israel's elected government and not undermine it." It added: "Israel is not a banana republic, but an independent and proud democracy that elected Prime Minister Netanyahu."
It's a fair point that Schumer is meddling in Israeli politics — after all, he just called for an election in a foreign state. But it's pretty rich for Netanyahu to complain. He has been playing politics in the US ever since the Obama administration, when he worked with Republicans to undermine the Iran nuclear deal. He also openly aligned himself with ex-President Donald Trump and was richly rewarded, including with the US moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Schumer's comments are the latest indication of an important shift in US politics that could have important indications for Israel moving forward, after years in which its government saw bipartisan support in Washington as a critical national interest.
There's little doubt that Schumer's move was precipitated by extreme political pressure in his party both inside and outside the Senate. Progressives are outraged at the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza during the Israeli assault on Hamas. Arab Americans and left-wing Democrats mounted a protest that saw over 100,000 party voters reject President Joe Biden in the recent primary election in the critical swing state of Michigan. If the same happens in November, Biden's hopes of a second term could be in serious jeopardy.
The most fascinating question raised by Schumer's comments is the extent to which his sentiments are shared by the White House. No modern president has been as pro-Israel as Biden, but it's looking increasingly like Netanyahu has pocketed the president's support while pretty much ignoring Biden's advice and warnings about Israeli strategy and the impact on Palestinians of the assault on Gaza. The president dodged questions about Schumer's comments during a visit to Michigan Thursday. But there have been signs of palpable frustration coming out of the administration in recent days. Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza. Biden himself last week warned Netanyahu was "hurting Israel more than helping Israel" with his assault on the Palestinian enclave. Openly criticizing Israel goes against Biden's political fiber, so these remarks carried significant weight. There's a sense among many pro-Israel Democrats that Netanyahu is prolonging the war to forestall an election that could lead to his ouster as prime minister as he faces multiple legal threats.
Biden has been significantly damaged, politically at home and in a reputational sense with US allies abroad, for his unwillingness to do more to pressure Israel into a ceasefire and to put conditions on how US-made weapons can be used in the conflict.
It is now clear that the electoral interests of Biden and Netanyahu are directly incompatible.
That may be the underlying message of Schumer's shock intervention.
