Message to Schumer: Non-Israeli citizens don’t determine Israel’s destiny

Democrat and Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer made news recently as he “called for an election in Israel to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an American official’s most vocal opposition to the prime minister since October 7th.”

Perhaps, because he is a Jew, Schumer assumed that he was able to weigh in on Israeli politics when he described the prime minister as “an obstacle to peace.” But, even as a Jew, and especially as a Jew, why would he believe that Israel, a democratic, independent country would pay any attention to the suggestion of a non-citizen whose knowledge of our situation, at best, is based on biased news reports or briefings which do not necessarily reflect a comprehensive and detailed account of the actual situation? Don’t the personal opinions of Israelis count when it comes to who gets to determine the destiny of their country?

It's actually insulting and demeaning that anyone, from the outside - even a fellow Jew, would purport to know what is best for those who live here day in and day out, but Schumer, who shares the ethnicity, must be very aware of elements within his own party, who are blatantly and unapologetically anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, so why does he appear to be putting politics first? Maybe it’s because he knows just how antagonistic much of his base has become towards the Jewish homeland and feels that his advice to install a new government could assuage their hostility.

Yet, if Schumer were living here, he’d know that there can be no peace without destroying the terrorists who have openly vowed to continue their attempts to massacre more Israelis as they already have. 

So, here’s the question. Why would he believe that our present government policy of pushing forward in fighting an enemy, which has made no secret of their genocidal aspirations toward Israelis and then Jews worldwide, is viewed as an obstacle to peace? 

Just speculation, but it could be because when it comes to Schumer, nothing is more important to him than his identity as a Democrat before anything else – so much so, that he is willing to blow up the freedoms of voters to decide for themselves, if need be. 

It was back in 2020 when he made a verbal threat to two Supreme Court justices (Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh) after they heard arguments in an abortion case, saying, “I want to tell you Gorsuch, I want to tell you Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

That statement earned Schumer the label “thug,” by one conservative who called his remarks, “astonishing, reckless and completely irresponsible.” Schumer’s call for Israeli elections also falls in the category of each of those adjectives, which define him as clearly having stepped over his boundaries and into the forbidden territory of trying to undermine rights and privileges belonging to others who are personally invested in Israel’s policies, just by virtue of the fact that they live here.

But Schumer is not new to controversy or criticism. Listed among many of his more problematic positions, he has been known to make some real errors of judgment, including:

• Voting against limiting Iran’s ability to enrich uranium and potentially develop a nuclear weapons program;

• Voting for the Iraq War in 2002 as he warned of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons; 

• Raising millions and millions of dollars from the finance industry both for himself and other Democrats. 

Now, once again, he is exercising very bad judgment by falsely believing that he has the right to interfere in Israel’s political and physical destiny as military decisions are made by those who know what’s in the best interest of our country.

While it’s true that many Israeli citizens would very much like to see a change in the present extremist ultra-Orthodox government coalition, most would agree that it is up to Israel’s citizens to determine when and how that should happen. To outsource our governmental choices to others is always a mistake, even if some believe it to be helpful because it fundamentally takes away the sovereignty and democracy of voters who must retain their full right to make their own choice in the manner that works for them and the country as a whole.

If those freedoms are relinquished one time, there will be a repeated attempt to make other decisions and determine policy for a country of ten million, which has, with God’s help, survived and flourished, against all odds, for over 75 years. So why should anyone think that their wisdom in navigating all the complexities of the Jewish homeland is superior to those who are already here? And shouldn’t anyone who wants to advise the course of our future, first be a resident of the country which they are attempting to lead as it relates to the direction we should take? 

Whether or not Schumer believes that Netanyahu has “lost his way,” as he states, still does not justify insinuating himself into matters that are way above his pay grade, given the multitude of unsolvable problems his own Democratic party has exacerbated, by their own ill-advised policies which continue to endanger Americans. 

Perhaps, the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. expressed it best when he posted the following statement on 𝕏, “Israel is a sovereign democracy. It is unhelpful, all the more, 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 goals.” Likewise, former prime minister, Naftali Bennett also stated that he “strongly opposes eternal political intervention in Israel’s internal affairs. We are an independent nation, not a banana republic.” Finally, coalition member Benny Gantz who, himself is the greatest political threat to the current prime minister stated, “Israel is a strong democracy, and only its citizens will determine its leadership and its future.”

Chuck Schumer would be wise to heed the words of our own political leaders and stay out of Israel’s business until and unless he chooses to leave America and make Aliyah to the homeland which is the one place where he can, as a Jew, escape the ubiquitous antisemitism which is ever growing and rife in his own party, not to mention much of their base which is daily calling for an immediate ceasefire before we are able to eradicate Hamas terrorists.

Schumer has plenty on his own plate to worry about, so before he floods us with his unwanted advice, he should concentrate on the many pressing matters that are plaguing his own country before trying to take a wrecking ball to ours. For those of us who live here, our response to him is, “Thanks, but no thanks.”