Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Israel to hold new elections, saying he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost his way” in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and a growing humanitarian crisis there.
Schumer, the first Jewish majority leader in the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S., will strongly criticize Netanyahu in a lengthy speech Thursday morning on the Senate floor. In prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press, Schumer says the prime minister has put himself in a coalition of far-right extremists and “as a result, he has been 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 will say.