It’s not often that I have the opportunity to heap praise on the senior senator from my state, but I have to admit that Chuck Schumer has been having some moments lately. First, he authored the UAP Transparency Act, which I’ve certainly supported. And today he took to the Senate floor for more than half an hour and scolded people (many obviously from his own party) who have been acting in an antisemitic fashion and even committing crimes against Jews since the October 7 Hamas attacks. He spoke passionately about Jewish people feeling isolated and living in fear in their own country. And he did it for the right reasons, too. He felt a responsibility to do so as the most senior Jewish elected official in the country’s history. (Fox News)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., delivered a 40-minute speech on the Senate floor Wednesday morning against the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. since the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on Oct. 7.
“I feel compelled to speak because I’m the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in America,” Schumer said on the floor Wednesday. “In fact, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official ever in American history.”
Schumer listed several incidents across the country that unfolded after Oct. 7 as evidence of the threat Jewish Americans feel they’re under.
Schumer highlighted boycotts on unrelated Jewish businesses, swastikas on delis, verbal abuse with references to Hitler, threats toward a Jewish senator, harassment and violence against Jewish students, and a left-wing magazine labeling a pro-Israel rally as a “hate rally.”
Chuck Schumer didn’t dodge any of the difficult topics. He dug into the specifics of what he’s been seeing in the streets and why it was so wrong. He condemned the people chanting “Free Palestine” or “From the river to the sea.” He explained what those things really mean and why Americans shouldn’t be saying them.
Schumer delivered one quote in an attempt to get through to these younger protesters that really struck home. Referring to the Jewish people and why they are so concerned right now, he said, “Because the long arc of Jewish history teaches us a lesson that is hard to forget. Ultimately, we are alone.” He went on to relay a story about his grandmother and how she refused to go with the Nazi soldiers during the war. He said that she and her other family members were gunned down on the spot. The comparison to the actions of Hamas on October 7 was unmistakable.
Unfortunately, the people who most badly need to hear this message are probably the least likely to listen to the speech. And even if they did, they would believe that it was all some sort of “Israeli propaganda” and point to claims from Hamas that none of it is true. How people who are literally putting up swastikas in American cities and tearing down posters of Israeli hostages can claim with a straight face that none of this is going on is a mystery.
Sadly, I’m not optimistic about Schumer really changing the atmosphere surrounding this topic. Something needs to be done, but it appears that rampant antisemitism can be hard to tamp down once it bursts into the open and gets a running start. But I salute him for at least trying. Given his position and his own background, it was the right thing to do and I’m still glad he did it.
You can watch the full speech below if you missed it. It was a doozy.
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