NEW YORK (VINnews) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke to Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne about his speech in which he called for Israel to replace its government. Schumer claimed that the speech was not meant to be an attack on Israel.
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“I spent two months thinking about this and wrestling with it,” Schumer told Dionne, arguing that the speech was an attempt to shore up support for Israel, particularly among young Americans.
“Too many people are turning against Israel because of their dislike for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” he claimed. “And I felt an imperative to show that you could be against Netanyahu and still be very pro-Israel, which of course I am.”
Schumer defended his call for early elections as consistent with the wishes Israelis themselves have expressed to pollsters.
“We’re not determining who Israel should pick,” Schumer told Dionne. “We’re just asking that they get a right to choose when so many people are just upset with the direction of the present government in Israel.”
In the wake of Republican criticism of Schumer’s meddling in Israeli politics, President Joe Biden on Friday indicated that he backs Schumer’s remarks.
“He made a good speech,” Biden said in the Oval Office when asked by reporters asked about Schumer’s remarks.
“He expressed serious concerns, shared not only by him but by many Americans,” Biden continued, adding that his staff were notified about the speech in advance by Schumer.
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby later rejected assertions that Biden is calling for new elections in Israel.
Asked by a reporter whether Biden wants to see new elections in Israel and for Netanyahu to no longer be in power, Kirby replied that its “up to the Israeli government that they elect to determine whether and how, if there’s going to be new elections, what that would look like.”
To the question of what Biden found good about Senator Schumer’s speech, Kirby responded “the President said that he knows that those remarks, they resonate with many Americans out there.”
On Sunday, Netanyahu gave an interview to CNN in which he said that Schumer’s remarks were “totally inappropriate”. Netanyahu said that whether elections were held or not in Israel was something “the Israeli government does on its own.”
“It’s inappropriate…to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership,” said the Prime Minister, who added that it was up to the Israeli public to decide whether Israel should hold elections after the Israel-Hamas war is over.
Recent polls in Israel showed that more than 65% of Israelis support early elections when the war is over, and that if elections were held today Netanyahu and his coalition would be defeated, according to Axios journalist Barak Ravid.
Lying Snake.
I”m calling on Schumer to resign so there can be a special election.
I”m not determining who NY should pick, I”m just asking that they get a right to choose when so many people are just upset with him.
What a lying scumbag.
Shmoky ! With friends like you, we don’t need enemies
The cost of elections is staggering. It is a financial drain on a country in the midst of war, with many employers up the creek because their manpower us in Gaza. The other cost is the organizational aspect of a country being in flux while being in a generally uncertain and tense state. The war, the losses, the angst of widows and orphans and the pain of the wounded combatants.
It is spurious to claim that he is not against Israel when calling for elections now!
liar liar as usual. you can’t believe a single word out of this man’s mouth. how exactly will what he is doing help Israel and how exactly will a different government be better for Israel? What a phony. I still remember his speech in Washington before he turned on Israel again. The only thing that matters to him is that days voting pattern like the Big Guy Joe. Hunters Dad.
Who wants to bet on which jewish org will have him honored 1st.
If they replace Netanyahu, Smotrich may be a good prime minister. I hope Netanyahu can stand up to the world with plans after the war and will have a good plan himself.
Chucky Spinmaster.
From the river to the sea, Israel shall be Islamofascist FREE.
Pollsters are frauds. Their questions are unclear and slanted. The people taking polls may not be a diverse enough representation. Get rid of them. Don’t believe anything they conclude.
We trust you chuck like we trust hitler.