Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has a new book out, titled “Antisemitism in America: A Warning.” He describes therein how bigotry against Jews is growing on both political sides, and writes that he felt a change in his responsibility as a Jewish American leader after the antisemitic Hamas pogrom of Oct. 7.
In his words, he “had to act.” But when it came time to introduce his book to the public, he abruptly postponed his publicity tour due to “security concerns.” This illustrates not only the prominence in America of the antisemitism he decries, but his failure to confront it with courage.
Throughout his career Sen. Schumer has claimed to be a guardian of Jewish interests, but his public statements and actions have frequently conveyed a very different message. This was especially on display during the last year—after the same Oct. 7 attacks that he claims motivated him to do more.
As Israel worked frantically to rescue hostages and neutralize the Hamas terror organization in March of last year, Schumer attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the Senate floor, calling for elections and new leadership in Israel.
Even fellow Democrats criticized his remarks, while Republicans asserted correctly that they caused “enormous damage.” To label the Israeli leader an “obstacle to peace” while facing a genocidal threat was akin to blaming Jews for failing to appease the Nazis, while hinting that Israel was losing American support certainly gave bloodthirsty Hamas fighters a morale boost.
A recent House Republican Staff report from the Committee on Education and the Workforce revealed that Schumer responded with a similarly stunning lack of concern to the surge of antisemitic protests and violence at Columbia University. He advised Columbia’s former president, Minouche Shafik, to “keep heads down,” because their “political problems are really only among Republicans.” This, from a self-proclaimed guardian of the Jewish community.
Earlier this year, Schumer blocked efforts to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its prejudiced and lawless arrest warrants against Israeli officials. The ICC has a pattern of transgressing its own authority to harm American and allied interests, but Schumer claimed the sanctions bill was “poorly drafted” and would have “many unintended consequences.” On the contrary, those consequences were designed to deter even the most woke of American companies and foreign governments from working with the ICC or complying with its anti-Israel and anti-American rulings.
Despite all of the foregoing, Schumer has stepped forward this year to be a key Senate sponsor of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which defines when anti-Israel or “anti-Zionist” language ventures into antisemitism.
This act will help ensure the safety of Jewish students on campus, and prevent universities from sliding further into bigotry and hate. But when he led the Senate as Majority Leader last year, Schumer failed to bring this same bill to the floor despite assuring Jewish audiences that he would.
Did Schumer genuinely have a change of heart about the bill’s importance? Or, alternatively, did he bury it as Majority Leader in order to hide the sharp divide within his caucus, but now, knowing that the bill will be introduced and will surely pass, is finally voting his conscience, especially as his book goes on sale? Sadly, it seems far more likely that for Schumer, protection of the Jewish community took a back seat to political expediency.
Sen. Schumer must now demonstrate that he has genuinely had a change of heart, and that he will oppose antisemitism and other forms of hatred even when it requires moral courage to do so. Instead of castigating Netanyahu, he could begin by repudiating the terror-supporting Democrats in both houses and call for them to be expelled from the caucus he leads.
George Washington recalled the biblical prophet, Micah, when he envisioned an America in which “every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”
It is imperative that leaders of both parties share that vision; if Sen. Schumer cannot clearly and emphatically provide that leadership for Senate Democrats, it is time for him to not merely flee from protesters, but to turn over the leadership to a Senator who can face them down.
Rabbi Yaakov Menken is Executive Vice President and Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is President of the Coalition for Jewish Values.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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