Pro-Israel Democrats shied away from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) call for Israel to hold elections on Thursday.
Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, delivered his strongest condemnation to date of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. The Senate majority leader criticized Netanyahu’s alleged refusal to allow enough aid into Gaza and accused the Israeli leader of using the war to protect himself politically.
As for the election call, Schumer cautioned that neither he nor the U.S. was trying to influence the future race. He also suggested it take place “once the war starts to wind down.”
“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,” he said in his Thursday floor speech.
The comments were met with widespread condemnation among both Israeli leaders and U.S. Republicans, who described Schumer’s interference in Israeli domestic politics as an inappropriate overreach. Among Senate Democrats, the issue is more fraught. While some have been vocally supportive of Schumer’s speech, others declined to echo his election call.
“That’s for Israelis. I don’t appreciate when others try to tinker in our politics,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told the Washington Examiner. “When Bibi Netanyahu came to Congress to try to influence our action on the Iran deal and did it in a way that was going to boost him politically, I did not participate in that, but I don’t think I should be offering opinions about what Israeli should do in their elections.”
“The question of whether there’s a new election ought to be for the Israelis to decide,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said. “But you know, I think there are very legitimate and strong questions that Sen. Schumer has raised.”
Pressed on the election matter specifically, Blumenthal added that he believed “all of the issues [Schumer] raised were appropriate.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has been vocal about his support for Israel since Hamas carried out its Oct. 7 attack, praised Schumer’s speech while distancing himself from the elections matter.
“He said a lot of the things that I wish more people were talking about, and that was being reflected in the media,” Fetterman said of the address. “That doesn’t require me to agree with everything, 100% of it. … You can appreciate what’s been said without necessarily having to be absolutely in 100% agreement.”
Fetterman pushed back when asked if Schumer made a mistake calling for new elections, saying, “No. That man is my leader and is the highest-ranking Jewish man in history, so that carries a lot of weight. I am not saying it was a mistake; I’m saying I agreed with a vast majority of what he said and it was very courageous. He said a lot of things that needed to be said; that just doesn’t mean I agree with everything 100% about it.”
The Oct. 7 massacre and Israel’s military offensive have highlighted internal divisions within the Democratic Party. Hard-left Democrats have vocally opposed Israel’s response to the attack, which marked the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, while most in the party have emphasized Israel’s right to defend itself even as a growing number call for restraint.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), who is running to replace outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as the top Republican next year, surmised to the Washington Examiner that Schumer “is dealing with politics on his side of the aisle around the country” when asked about waning Israel support.
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Support for the war has waned on the Democratic side of the aisle in recent weeks, the result of the high death toll of Palestinians and Netanyahu’s refusal to bow to U.S. demands to allow more aid into Gaza amid warnings of mass starvation and disease outbreaks. Adding to the Democratic anger is the looming Rafah invasion, which Netanyahu said he would conduct regardless of President Joe Biden’s statements condemning such a move.
For his part, Netanyahu has blamed Hamas for the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, pushing back on U.S. criticisms after Biden ordered the aid to be airdropped into the devastated region earlier this month.