Schumer calls for new Israeli leader to replace Netanyahu in Senate floor speech

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called on Israel to elect a new prime minister to replace Benjamin Netanyahu in order to move towards a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the form of a two-state solution. 

In what was billed as a major speech on a two-state solution, Schumer said on the Senate floor on Thursday that Netanyahu was one of four obstacles to this solution. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., holds a news conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 21, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The majority leader said he believed that "Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take the precedence over the best interests of Israel."

Along with Netanyahu, Schumer listed "Hamas, and the Palestinians who support and tolerate their evil ways, radical, right-wing Israelis in government and society, [and] Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas" as the other obstacles. 

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya military base, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Dec. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)

According to Schumer, who is Jewish, Israeli elections are "the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel." He added that he believed a majority of Israelis also recognize a need for change in their government. 

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., joined at right by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., speaks to reporters following a closed-door policy meeting at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

In his reasoning for calling on elections to potentially replace Netanyahu, Schumer explained: "He has put himself in coalition with far-right extremists like Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, 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."

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Schumer emphasized that Israel will not be able to overcome such a poor public image. "Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah," he said.

Israel prepares to open the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. (AP)

After Schumer’s speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R–Ky., took to the floor and addressed the remarks of his Democratic colleague, but did not call him out by name.

"The Jewish state of Israel deserves an ally that acts like one," he said, condemning the call for new Israeli elections as "unprecedented."

"Israel's unity, government and security cabinet deserve the deference befitting a sovereign democratic country." 

The Kentucky Republican added that "foreign observers" who aren’t able to recognize these important distinctions should not give their own prescriptions. McConnell additionally claimed the Democratic Party’s issue is not with Netanyahu, but with the state of Israel itself.

Michael Herzog, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., posted his reaction to the news on X, formerly Twitter:

"Israel is a sovereign democracy. It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals."

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As recently as January, Netanyahu rejected the prospect of two states, claiming, "I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan — and this is contrary to a Palestinian state." 

The Palestinian Authority has also reiterated its desire for the territories of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with Jerusalem as the capital.