Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) denounced Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “obstacle to peace” in a Thursday floor speech and called on Israel to hold a new election to replace the Netanyahu-led government amid its ongoing war with Hamas.
“Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel,” Schumer said in a 40-minute speech on the Senate floor, suggesting Israel should elect a new leader who, in his view, can better deal with the threat of Hamas.
Schumer’s call for an Israeli election comes as President Joe Biden and other Democrats are becoming increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu over the rising civilian deaths in Gaza and his refusal to agree to a cease-fire deal with Hamas, which would include the establishment of an official Palestinian state. The Israeli leader again rejected the possibility of a two-state solution earlier this week, saying his nation wouldn’t support the proposition after the brutal October 7 attack.
As Israel prepares to attack the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have been displaced during the months-long fighting, Biden warned that waging such an offensive would be crossing a “red line.” In response, Netanyahu said he intends on preventing future Hamas attacks so that October 7 “never happens again.”
“We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave them,” Netanyahu told Politico on Sunday when asked whether Israeli forces would move into Rafah to drive out Hamas. “You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again.”
The Israeli military said Wednesday it plans to direct a substantial portion of the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians out of Rafah to safe locations ahead of the anticipated offensive.
The diplomatic relationship between Biden and Netanyahu has been strained in recent months, as cease-fire negotiations have stalled. While he’s remained publicly supportive of Israel’s efforts to eradicate Hamas, Biden has privately disparaged Netanyahu, calling him an “assh***” in a conversation with campaign donors last month, according to NBC News.
The White House has been pushing for a two-state solution as part of a permanent cease-fire to end the war, but Israel has insisted that there can be no such solution while Hamas remains the de facto governing authority in Gaza, where roughly 100 Israeli hostages are still being held.
Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish lawmaker in the U.S., said Thursday that a new Israeli election is the “only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government.”
The next Israeli legislative election is set for October 2026.
“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 towards a two-state solution,” Schumer added.
The top Senate Democrat noted that the obstacles to a two-state solution, in addition to Netanyahu, are Hamas, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, and “radical right-wing Israelis.”
In response, Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) called Schumer’s divisive remarks “highly inappropriate” and “plain wrong.”
“We need to be standing with Israel,” Johnson said during a press conference at the House GOP retreat in West Virginia alongside other Republican leaders. “We need to give our friends and allies our full support. We have to stand with and support them right now. But what you’re seeing from the White House and clearly from the Senate Democrats, is really exactly the opposite.”
House majority whip Tom Emmer (R., Minn.) concurred, accusing Schumer of “calling for the U.S. to meddle in Israel’s election.”
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett made a similar statement on social media, although he didn’t mention Schumer by name.
“Regardless of our political opinion, we strongly oppose external political intervention in Israel’s internal affairs. We are an independent nation, not a banana republic,” Bennett posted on X. “With the threat of terrorism on its way to the West, it would be best if the international community would assist Israel in its just war, thereby also protecting their countries.”