‘Pariah’: Chuck Schumer calls for end of Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel

Chuck Schumer says Netanyahu is ‘allowing his political survival to take precedence over the interests of Israel’; warns the US may use ‘our leverage to change the present course.’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for Israel to hold new elections and brig an end to the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the most strident criticism yet by a senior American official of Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza.

The remarks from the highest-ranking elected Jewish American in history, came amid increased pressure from President Joe Biden’s administration over the mounting death toll in the conflict, sparked by the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants.

“As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may. But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice,” said Schumer, the head of the chamber’s Democratic majority, without suggesting a timeline for a vote.

“There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after October 7.” Schumer said Netanyahu was one of four “major obstacles” to a two-state solution and peace, alongside Hamas and its Palestinian supporters, radical right-wing Israelis and the Palestinian Authority’s leader Mahmoud Abbas.

He accused the Israeli leader of surrounding himself with right-wing extremists and being “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.”

“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer, an outspoken ally of the Israeli government who visited the country just days after the attacks, told colleagues on the Senate floor.

He warned that if Netanyahu’s coalition continued to pursue “dangerous and inflammatory” policies after the war, the United States would look at playing “a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.”

May we light the candles that lead us to a better future for all. pic.twitter.com/XtBJEqA7ro

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 14, 2024

Describing Mr Netanyahu as one of four major obstacles to peace, Schumer said the US was not trying to dictate who should lead Israel.

However he didn’t believe Netanyahu was fit to lead his country into a post-war future.

“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 was withering in his criticism of Hamas, and the Palestinian Auuthority – two other obstacles – but added: “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.”

He said Netanyahu has “lost his way, putting himself in coalition with far-right extremists like [Finance Minister] Bezalel Smotrich and [National Security Minister] Itamar Ben Gvir.”

The Israeli leader “has all too frequently bowed to the demands of extremists” and has let “his political survival take precedence over the best interests of Israel,” he said.

Schumer added, significantly: “If Prime Minister Netanyahu’s current coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing US standards for assistance, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.”

On the Senate floor this morning, @SenSchumer told truths that have long needed to be said about Israel's political leadership.

It was a powerful speech that provides a framework to peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. https://t.co/9bbmoO1XGF

— Senator Peter Welch (@SenPeterWelch) March 14, 2024

Schumer, who describes himself as a friend of Israel, has refrained from harsh criticism of Netanyahu’s government. He took a bipartisan delegation to Israel shortly after Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis, and helped steer an aid package for Israel through the Senate.

Israel reacted furiously to Schumer’s speech. Netanyahu’s Likud party demanded that Schumer “refrain from undermining the Israeli government,” adding in a statement: “Israel is not a banana republic, but a democracy proud of its choice in PM Netanyahu.”

Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the US said: “It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organisation Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally. It is counter-productive to our common goals.”

Israel is a sovereign democracy. It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals.

— Ambassador Michael Herzog (@AmbHerzog) March 14, 2024

Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell described Mr Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel as “grotesque and hypocritical,” given Democrats’ concerns about foreign interference in US elections.

“The Jewish state of Israel deserves an ally that acts like one,” he said.

House Republican leaders echoed that criticism. Speaker Mike Johnson said: “It’s just plain wrong for an American leader to play such a divisive role in Israeli politics.”

Israeli protesters rally against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government in-front of the Knesset. Picture: Getty Images.

Mr Schumer’s speech comes as Israel prepares to attack the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians displaced by fighting have taken refuge.

US President Joe Biden has warned a ground invasion without a plan to evacuate Rafah residents is a “red line,” and in an increasing war of words between the two leaders, Mr Netanyahu has threatened a “dramatic, public confrontation” with Mr Biden.

The United Nations is warning of famine amid hampered efforts to get more aid into the war-devastated Gaza Strip, and desperate residents have stormed relief shipments.

Mediators failed to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas militants for the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which started on Monday, and Hamas authorities have since reported more than 40 air strikes across Gaza.

Daily aid airdrops by multiple nations have been taking place but the air and sea missions are not seen as adequate, and the UN has reported difficulty in accessing Gaza’s north with aid.

Mr Schumer also called for the resignation of Mr Abbas, who he said had evaded the democratic process and achieved few of his self-proclaimed goals, overseeing a corrupt Palestinian Authority that was inciting instability.