Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who is the highest-ranked Jewish elected official in the U.S., warned Wednesday that antisemitism in the United States has reached levels unseen in generations and called on his fellow Democrats to clearly condemn it.
Schumer’s remarks during a nearly-45 minute speech on the Senate floor come at a sensitive time in the Israel-Hamas war. The Biden administration is engaged in delicate negotiations to release hostages held by Hamas and extend a ceasefire, Democratic senators are increasingly calling to attach humanitarian conditions on a military aid package for Israel, and the left-wing of the party has demonstrated a surge in support for Palestinians.
Schumer is carefully navigating the moment, but said it was time for a clear-throated denouncement of the antisemitism that has flared in the U.S. and Europe ever since Hamas militants stormed into Israel last month.
“The vitriol against Israel in the wake of October 7th is all too often crossing a line into brazen and widespread antisemitism the likes of which we haven’t seen in generations in this country, if ever,” Schumer said.
The Anti-Defamation League has recorded a nearly-quadruple spike in antisemitic incidents since the onset of the war. The Biden administration has also called on universities to fight an “alarming rise” in antisemitism and Islamophobia.
“In many ways, we feel alone,” Schumer said.
It was an emotional moment for the senator. He told The Associated Press he spent days over the Thanksgiving holiday writing the speech. In an interview, he said his position as the highest-ranked Jewish elected official in the country’s history “called on me to do this speech.”
“It would have been a dereliction of my duty, not only to my Jewish origins, but to America, not to give this speech,” Schumer explained.
The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants has often taken a personal toll on Schumer. This week after watching video of atrocities committed during the attack, he had to sit in silence in his office for half an hour.
“I just sat, thought, let it all sink in,” he said.
In his speech, Schumer called on Israel to protect civilians in Palestine, expressed support for a “two-state solution” in the Middle East as well as criticized Israeli settlements in the West Bank. But he also argued that liberals have applied a “double-standard” to Israel.
“When Hamas terrorists actively hide behind innocent Palestinians, knowing that many of those civilians will die in the Israeli response, why does the criticism for any civilian deaths seem to fall exclusively on Israel and not at all on Hamas?”
