Chuck Schumer Helps Make The World Safe For Hamas

To appease the antisemitic left-wing of the Democratic Party, President Joe Biden is putting more and more distance between the United States and Israel as the Jewish state fights for its national survival against Hamas.

Yet while Biden woos the Arab/Muslim vote in Dearborn, Michigan, he is alienating the Jewish community and other Americans of goodwill who support Israel. It is not lost on the Biden campaign that the president's increasing hostility towards our closest ally in the Middle East could come back to haunt him in swing states like Pennsylvania, which have substantial Jewish communities.

What is Biden to do? Cue the big Jew: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Putting his personal political power above principle, Schumer took it upon himself to explain to his fellow American Jews that it is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is to blame for the war in Gaza:

Netanyahu is the democratically elected prime minister of Israel; as such, it is up to Israel alone to decide when to hold elections and whether to replace him. Just as the U.S. will not tolerate any foreign interference in our elections, American interference in the elections of another democracy is simply unacceptable. When the war is over, Israelis will have ample opportunity to pass judgment on Netanyahu, his coalition and their responsibility for Oct. 7. Until then, Israel deserves America's unwavering support, not politically motivated propaganda.

Schumer must know that Netanyahu and his government's policy on the war in Gaza has overwhelming support from across Israel's political spectrum. There is virtual unanimity that Israel must enter Rafah and completely destroy Hamas. That is going to happen no matter who is prime minister. Biden and Schumer's finger-wagging will make no difference.

One irony of Schumer's unfortunate statement is that Netanyahu is perhaps the greatest peacemaker in Israel's history. He made the Abraham Accords possible and was on the cusp of making peace with Saudi Arabia. There were even reports that Israel was close to normalizing relations with Indonesia--the most populous Muslim country in the world.

These are not the achievements of a "governing vision that is stuck in the past." It is a vision that is laying the groundwork for a peaceful and prosperous Middle East.

It is Biden and Schumer who are stuck in the past. The days of handwringing and mourning the deaths of Jews while decrying their legitimate efforts to defend themselves are over. If Biden and Schumer cannot give their full-throated support to Israel's right to defend its citizens in the wake of such a heinous attack, they should at least get out of the way.

Schumer's perfidy is not unprecedented. When former President Barack Obama chose to ram the Iran nuclear deal down the throats of the American people, Schumer waited until he knew Obama had the Senate votes the president needed before Schumer fecklessly came out against it. It is possible that Schumer could have prevented the disastrous deal, but we will never know because he didn't lift a finger to stop it.

It is now clear that Chuck Schumer is no lifelong supporter of Israel. He is a lifelong supporter of Chuck Schumer. He has no moral compass.

As U.S. allies in the region study Schumer's betrayal of Israel, they will no doubt be further convinced that America is an unreliable and untrustworthy ally. To them, the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan will no longer seem like a fluke, but part of a pattern of American retreat. If the retreat continues, our Middle Eastern allies will drift out of our sphere of influence and look to make accommodations with Iran, Russia and China. Indeed, that process has already begun.

Schumer is right that "the world has changed radically" since the Oct. 7 attack. America has become weaker; the world has become more dangerous; and the American-led world order has never been more at risk.

Originally published at JNS.org