Chuck Schumer’s  Speech on Israel and Palestine

Partners for Progressive Israel applauds the brave and balanced speech delivered yesterday by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Senator Schumer outlined with devastating clarity what lies ahead for Israel if it continues to be led by Benjamin Netanyahu and controlled by a band of political zealots who seek river-to-sea domination and prefer ruling over, rather than living peacefully alongside, the Palestinian people in a state of its own. Like Senator Schumer, we believe that the horrors of October 7 require Israelis to hold a “fresh debate”, go to elections, and change course at once – difficult as that might be for a traumatized nation. We agree, as well, that the U.S. must use its “leverage” with Israel so that American support doesn’t contradict the goal of achieving long-term peace and stability.Senator Schumer correctly began his speech by noting that he expresses the sentiment of the mainstream of Jewish Americans. Indeed, like the Senator, the majority of American Jews regard Hamas as a major obstacle to peace, but also understand that Israel has its own extremist wing, which has been consistently aided and abetted by Mr. Netanyahu.

We also thank Senator Schumer for rejecting the term “colonizers” as increasingly applied to the Jewish people in Israel and for his acknowledgement of the legitimate, longstanding ties to the land of both Jews and Palestinians. The Senator is to be applauded for carefully dissecting why a democratic one-state future offers no true solution, and why a nondemocratic Israel-controlled one-state reality is a guarantee of forever war.

Finally, we share the Senator’s plea for “courageous leadership” and an “all-out push to bring about peace”. Ultimately, only a cessation of violence can bring back the hostages, and only a peace agreement can bring lasting security for both peoples and prevent another October 7. There is no military solution.