Chuck Schumer, top-ranked Jewish face of US Congress, repeats call for early elections in Israel
File photo of Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader of the United States Senate
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer defended his call for early elections in Israel to potentially replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting with executives from major American-Jewish organisations.
"There was a fundamental question of whether he would backpedal or defend himself, and he very clearly defended himself," one of the executives on the call Schumer held with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel.
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Schumer is the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress in US history and has been a pro-Israel face in Washington's corridors of power.
Schumer told the New York Times in an interview that he considered calling on the Israeli PM to step down in his speech last week but did not eventually do it because he did not want to be seen as interfering in Israeli affairs.
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"I said to myself, 'This may hurt me politically; this may help me politically.' I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I didn't do it," Schumer was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
He said the main purpose of the speech "was to say you can still love Israel and feel strongly about Israel and disagree with Bibi Netanyahu and the policies of Israel."
"Bibi could prevent any election until 2026," he said.
"I worry under his leadership, Israel would become such a pariah in the world and even in the United States because I look at the numbers and they are rapidly decreasing. I had to speak out before it erodes," Schumer continued, adding that Israel’s "future could well be over" without US support.
Schumer claimed that he spent two months and ten drafts preparing for the speech and informed the White House a day before to purportedly ensure that it would not interfere with negotiations to free the hostages held in Gaza.
(With inputs from agencies)