Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gave a speech about the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States on Wednesday. As the highest ranking Jewish person in American government, it was appropriate for Schumer to offer these remarks.
It was a decent speech. Although Schumer couldn’t make it through the first three minutes without invoking Trump, he does cover a lot of history, addresses the issue of oppressor vs. oppressed, and slogans like “from the river to the sea.”
The speech is 40 minutes long, and worth your time to listen:
As the New York Times notes, Schumer called out the acts of anti-Semitism we see coming from the left:
Schumer Condemns Antisemitism, Warning the Left Against Abetting ItSenator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, on Wednesday warned that some liberals and young people were “unknowingly aiding and abetting” antisemitism in the name of social justice, fueling a dangerous rise in bigotry against Jews amid Israel’s war against Hamas.In a deeply personal speech from the Senate floor aimed largely at members of his own party, Mr. Schumer, the country’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, issued a more than 40-minute explanation and condemnation of antisemitism in America that has flared since Israel began retaliating against Hamas for its Oct. 7 terrorist attack against defenseless Israeli civilians.In the wake of the attack, he said, many Americans had skipped over any expression of sympathy for the victims and instead attacked the past actions of the Israeli government against the Palestinians.“Can anybody imagine a horrific terrorist attack in another country receiving such a reception?” he asked, noting that the long arc of history had taught Jews a painful lesson: “ultimately, that we are alone.”Mr. Schumer’s warning came as antisemitic hate crimes have skyrocketed and pro-Palestinian protests, some featuring antisemitic signs and slogans, have swelled across the country as the civilian death toll in Gaza has soared. Those events have fueled a bitter debate over the war and exposed a sharp divide in the Democratic Party.
However, that being said, Schumer left out a few specific names from his own party.
Stephen L. Miller writes at Newsweek:
Chuck Schumer: Name the Antisemites in Your Party or Sit DownSchumer, the highest Jewish elected official in the federal government, has been an outspoken ally for Israel during this conflict, and to his credit, he named specific instances of antisemitism that are spreading from the Left—from his side…And yet, he did not name the supporters of Hamas in his own party, in his own state. Schumer chose to speak in broad platitudes of the dangers of this new antisemitic wave…Dark money groups of his own party sponsoring activists like disgraced Women’s March Director Linda Sarsour as well as Democratic House Members like Ilhan Omar, who has been admonished in the past for her antisemitic remarks, went nameless in Schumer’s remarks. So did Congresswoman Tlaib. Even as Schumer made specific references to incidents like the Jewish teacher in Queens who was forced to hide from her own students, Schumer neglected to accept responsibility that this is happening in his own state. Queens, New York is not MAGA Country.Until Schumer is willing to call out these elements stemming from his own state and jurisdiction and members of his own donor base and Democratic colleagues, he cannot simply be praised for doing the bare minimum.
Featured image via YouTube.
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