Schumer Calls For New Elections In Israel

[Fuzzy Bear]

https://www.axios.com/2024/03/14/schumer-israel-elections-slams-netanyahu

Schumer said in prepared remarks that new elections are the "only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel."

Schumer criticized Netanyahu for aligning himself with far-right extremists in the Israeli government, saying he has turned away from a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. Biden supports such a plan.

"Nobody expects Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the things that must be done to break the cycle of violence, preserve Israel's credibility on the world stage, and work toward a two-state solution," Schumer said.

Aid and comfort came from our confused President:

Amazing as it was, Mitch McConnell was the voice of reason:

So let me get this straight:  The people who whine endlessly about "Our Democracy!" and "Foreign Election Interference!" are interfering in the working democracy of an ally.  Somehow, this doesn't compute.  Lots of people don't like Netanyahu in America, including lots of politicians, but does this justify a call for new elections in Israel?  Don't the Israelis have the right to choose their own leaders without Editorial Comment from American Pols?

If we were talking about President Zelenskyy in Ukraine, the pol who called for new Ukrainian elections would be pilloried as a Putin Stooge, a "threat to democracy", an "authoritarian", and he would be roundly criticized for meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs, and rightly so.  So what's the guiding principle here with the Israeli situation?  It can't be "democracy".  It can't be "freedom".  There is no reason to think anything other than Biden is interfering (and it's Biden that will be doing the interfering; he's signed off on Schumer's comments) in the internal affairs of a democracy and an ally in order to shore up defections from younger voters, Islamic voters (especially in MI), and the hard left.  Shame on him.  If you're going to whine about "Our Democracy", your comments may gain a bit of credibility if you refrain from the kind of outside interference in some other nation's "democracy", regardless of your personal opinions.

[MasterJedi]

Based.

[Hindsight was 2020]

Schumer is parroting a popular sentiment in Israel per polling

[DrScholl]

Netanyahu needs to go and should have been gone a long time ago.

[DavidB.]

I also think it would be good if there were new elections in Israel, but that's up to the Israelis, not to Schumer. A very inappropriate statement by him. It's obvious many Democrats want a color revolution in Israel, though.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Netanyahu has managed to turn off all his allies and has become a liability for Israel. The only ones who don't see that are Republicans because Bibi has turned Likud into an extension of their own party.

Of course Schumer's statement again didn't satisfy the ceasefire/pro-Hamas crowd like that idiot mayor from Michigan who wanted more "action" from Biden. Like what moron, orchestrating a Chile-like coup to topple a democratically elected prime-minister?  

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Chuck Schumer’s doing the Lord’s work!

[GP270watch]

 Netanyahu can't even complain as he's interjected himself into American politics in very inappropriate ways.

 Schumer was very smart for saying this. The U.S.-Israeli bond is fracturing and the younger generation of Americans have mostly negative opinions about the current government of Israel and the atrocities in Gaza.

[Fuzzy Bear]

This is interference in another country's elections, something that all but DavidB have excoriated here. 

I have come to the conclusion that everyone here (save DavidB) is fine with foreign interference in American elections as long as it helps Biden win. 

[Landslide Lyndon]

This is interference in another country's elections, something that all but DavidB have excoriated here. 

I have come to the conclusion that everyone here (save DavidB) is fine with foreign interference in American elections as long as it helps Biden win. 

Says the guy who thinks Russian interference in American elections is ok because it helps his party.

[South Dakota Democrat]

This is interference in another country's elections, something that all but DavidB have excoriated here. 

I have come to the conclusion that everyone here (save DavidB) is fine with foreign interference in American elections as long as it helps Biden win. 

It's not "interference," it's expressing an opinion.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

He's right, but also this will have the opposite effect and saying it was very bad politics. You only go this route if you're gearing up for a diplomatic cold war with Israel, and I don't think Biden or Schumer are. He already seems to be walking it back.

[Fuzzy Bear]

This is interference in another country's elections, something that all but DavidB have excoriated here. 

I have come to the conclusion that everyone here (save DavidB) is fine with foreign interference in American elections as long as it helps Biden win. 

It's not "interference," it's expressing an opinion.

When I post on Atlas, that's expressing an opinion.

When the Senate Majority Leader of the United States makes a statement of this nature, and the President publicly agrees with him, that's more than "expressing an opinion".  That's sending a message demanding a nation comply with a demand, with the implied threat of withdrawn support.  Israel isn't China; it's a democracy, it has a right to exist, it has the right to defend itself, and it has the right to hold elections according to its own laws.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Netanyahu can't even complain as he's interjected himself into American politics in very inappropriate ways.

Democrats were too cowardly to call out Netanyahu's interference for Trump in 2016, so we only heard the far less credible claims of foreign interference.

[Hindsight was 2020]

Also the irony of Bibi and his supporters being upset with this when he has pulled stunts to influence U.S. elections on several occasions is not lost on me

[All Along The Watchtower]

All of these Republican Gentiles lining up to condemn a Jewish Senator’s criticism of Israeli’s current government = not a good look!

EDIT: And it’s Chuck Schumer ffs. Between him and Biden, Democratic leadership is unusually pro-Israel. Losing Schumer’s support just shows how off the rails the current Israeli government and the political culture in that country has become.

[Fuzzy Bear]

All of these Republican Gentiles lining up to condemn a Jewish Senator’s criticism of Israeli’s current government = not a good look!

It's the principle of us not interfering with someone else's democracy.

[Ferguson97]

When I post on Atlas, that's expressing an opinion.

When the Senate Majority Leader of the United States makes a statement of this nature, and the President publicly agrees with him, that's more than "expressing an opinion".  That's sending a message demanding a nation comply with a demand, with the implied threat of withdrawn support.  Israel isn't China; it's a democracy, it has a right to exist, it has the right to defend itself, and it has the right to hold elections according to its own laws.

And we have a right to place conditions on the money that we send to other countries.

Don't like that? Fine, vote for someone else.

But to call this "interreference in Israeli elections" is just comical.

[Fuzzy Bear]

When I post on Atlas, that's expressing an opinion.

When the Senate Majority Leader of the United States makes a statement of this nature, and the President publicly agrees with him, that's more than "expressing an opinion".  That's sending a message demanding a nation comply with a demand, with the implied threat of withdrawn support.  Israel isn't China; it's a democracy, it has a right to exist, it has the right to defend itself, and it has the right to hold elections according to its own laws.

And we have a right to place conditions on the money that we send to other countries.

Don't like that? Fine, vote for someone else.

But to call this "interreference in Israeli elections" is just comical.

That's a matter for behind-the-scenes negotiations.

Schumer's statement is a way of strong-arming Israel to, essentially, dump it's elected President, essentially at the behest of the Far Left and Palestinian voters in MI that could swing the election by voting 3rd party or not showing up.  Indeed, the motive for this ham-handedness is all American Domestic Politics, which makes it even more irresponsible.

[DaleCooper]

I don't think this is a way of pandering to pro-Palestinian people. Netanyahu is just bad to work with. He's a bad leader and he's making things worse, which means all our aid to Israel is for nothing. I've said before, if I were president then Israel gets no free money with Netanyahu in charge. I don't know if that's more or less inappropriate than calling for a new election.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

BB isn't a man of peace and Israelis keep electing him because that's all they know is BB. There should not be another term of BB ever again

[Landslide Lyndon]

I don't think this is a way of pandering to pro-Palestinian people. Netanyahu is just bad to work with. He's a bad leader and he's making things worse, which means all our aid to Israel is for nothing. I've said before, if I were president then Israel gets no free money with Netanyahu in charge. I don't know if that's more or less inappropriate than calling for a new election.

Even in the 90s, when Netanyahu still hadn't bear-hugged the Republicans, Bill Clinton and his team considered him an untrustworthy jerk. The guy is an opportunist who will do anything for his political survival, no matter how harmful this might be for his friends and allies.

[South Dakota Democrat]

This is interference in another country's elections, something that all but DavidB have excoriated here. 

I have come to the conclusion that everyone here (save DavidB) is fine with foreign interference in American elections as long as it helps Biden win. 

It's not "interference," it's expressing an opinion.

When I post on Atlas, that's expressing an opinion.

When the Senate Majority Leader of the United States makes a statement of this nature, and the President publicly agrees with him, that's more than "expressing an opinion".  That's sending a message demanding a nation comply with a demand, with the implied threat of withdrawn support.  Israel isn't China; it's a democracy, it has a right to exist, it has the right to defend itself, and it has the right to hold elections according to its own laws.

Is it election interference when Boris Johnson or Liz Truss endorse Donald Trump?

[It’s so Joever]

All of these Republican Gentiles lining up to condemn a Jewish Senator’s criticism of Israeli’s current government = not a good look!

It's the principle of us not interfering with someone else's democracy.

Right…

*whistles innocently*

[Electric Circus]

I thought it was a moving speech. Very personal. I don't think any American politician has summed up the situation better than Schumer does here. It's worth a read or a listen:

We love Israel in our bones. What Israel has meant to my generation, within living memory of the Holocaust, is impossible to measure. The flowering of the Jewish people in the desert from the ashes of the Holocaust, and the fulfillment of the dream of a Jewish homeland — after nearly two thousand years of praying and waiting — represents one of the most heartfelt causes of my life.

And unlike some younger Americans, I remember how hard it was to achieve that dream. I remember clutching my transistor radio to my ear in James Madison High School during the Six Day War wondering if Israel would be pushed into the sea.

If the events of the last few months have made anything clear, it is that Israel is surrounded by vicious enemies, and there are many people around the world who excuse and even support their aims to expel and kill Jews living in their hard-won land of refuge.

I will never underestimate the grave threats Israel faces — and has faced — for the entirety of its existence, nor will I ever underestimate the oppression that the Jewish people have endured for millennia.

It is precisely out of this long-standing connection to, and concern for, the State of Israel and its people that I speak today about what I view are the most pressing existential threats to Israel’s long-term peace and prosperity.

After five months of suffering on both sides of this conflict, our thinking must turn — urgently — to how we can achieve lasting peace, and ensure prosperity and security for both the Jewish people and the Palestinian people in the Middle East.