Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) managed to unite many Israelis — against him, and behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at least when it comes to the right of Israelis to choose their own leaders democratically.
Israeli opposition leaders joined Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party in denouncing Schumer for demanding Thursday that Israel hold new elections to oust Netanyahu from power.
Schumer claimed that Netanyahu was an “obstacle to peace.”
Netanyahu’s main rival, Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party, who serves in Israel’s emergency government of national unity, said: “The leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate Chuck Schumer is a friend of Israel, who helps her a lot even these days, but he made a mistake in his statement. Israel is a strong democracy, and only its citizens will determine its leadership and future. Any external intervention in the matter is incorrect and unacceptable.”
Naftali Bennett, a former Netanyahu aide-turned-rival who ousted him as prime minister in 2001, also added: “Regardless of our political opinion, we strongly oppose external political intervention in Israel’s internal affairs. We are an independent nation, not a banana republic. With the threat of terrorism on its way to the West, it would be best if the international community would assist Israel in its just war, thereby also protecting their countries.”
Only opposition leader Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party — which is viewed as close to the Democratic Party in the U.S. — used Schumer’s speech to criticize Netanyahu, saying that the prime minister was alienating Israel’s best friends.
Schumer added fuel to rumors that the Biden Administration wants to see Netanyahu ousted from office, because he opposes some of Biden’s policies for postwar Gaza, notably the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The vast majority of Israelis — and Americans — agree with Netanyahu. Ironically, the most Biden — and Schumer — criticize Netanyahu, the better Netanyahu does in polls, as voters rally behind him as the sole leader capable of standing up to the White House.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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