Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is defending his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pointing to his Jewish identity and detailing the precarious situation Israel finds itself in.

In a speech on the Senate floor last week, Schumer, the United States’s highest-ranking Jewish official, called for Israel to conduct new elections and said Netanyahu has “lost his way.”

In an interview with the New York Times, the Democratic leader said the goal of his speech “was to say you can still love Israel and feel strongly about Israel and totally disagree with Bibi Netanyahu and the policies of Israel.”

He said his Jewish faith motivated him to stand up for Jews and Israel and speak out against the prime minister, who he believes risks Israel’s global reputation.

“I said to myself, ‘This may hurt me politically; this may help me politically.’ I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I didn’t do it,” he said.

Schumer was harshly criticized by Republicans for his comments on Israel and Netanyahu, with former President Donald Trump commenting on the matter by saying, “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion.” Still, Schumer has not backed down from his position, recognizing the U.S.’s importance to Israel, saying without American support, the “future could well be over” for Israel.

“To make Israel a partisan issue only hurts Israel and the US-Israeli relationship,” he said on X. “Trump is making highly partisan and hateful rants.”

Schumer said he was conflicted about exactly what action he should call for as tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, and backlash from progressive Democrats and voters has been fierce. The senator said he spent nearly two months and 10 drafts before settling on what to say. 

“I wrestled with myself — maybe I should say Bibi should step down,” Schumer said before deciding not to take that route. “That is telling Israel what to do, and it’s in the middle of a war.”

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Still, Schumer said his pride in his Jewish identity and care for the future of the Jewish nation prompted him to speak against Netanyahu. 

“I care about Jews,” he said. “It’s not the only thing I care about. I care about America, I care about New York, I care about my family, but I care about Jews.”