Courtesy of JTA. Photo credit: Video screen capture
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) castigated Hamas, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and far-right leaders in Israel during a speech on the Senate floor, March 14, 2024
(JTA) — It’s a good thing Chuck Schumer loves pickles — because he’s in a real big one following Zohran Mamdani’s apparent victory in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary last week.
The House Minority Leader’s Biden-y vibes (pro-Israel moderate) and vintage (74 years old) were already shaping up to be big problems for him in a potential 2028 primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive powerhouse from the Bronx who campaigned for Mamdani. If Schumer fails to get behind Mamdani, it will galvanize progressive opposition — not only to his re-election, but quite possibly his leadership of the Democratic caucus in the Senate.
The problem for Schumer is that anything resembling an endorsement — or, to use the technical term, kashering — of Mamdani will outrage many of his longtime political supporters in the Jewish community, who see Mamdani as mainstreaming the sort of pro-Palestinan politics that villainizes Israel and endangers Jews. They expect him to take the lead in sticking up for Israel and speaking out against antisemitism.
On this last point, Schumer the senator has only Schumer the shomer to blame.
When Schumer took to the Senate floor in March 2024 to deliver a major speech on the war in Gaza and the Israel political landscape, he broke out his favorite Hebrew lesson to make clear that he was speaking as more than just an elected official.
“My last name is Schumer, which derives from the Hebrew word shomer, or ‘guardian,’” Schumer said. “Of course, my first responsibility is to America and to New York. But as the first Jewish Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in America ever, I also feel very keenly my responsibility as a shomer yisroel — a guardian of the People of Israel.”
In his speech, Schumer strongly condemned Hamas, blaming it for the war and much of the devastation in Gaza, and called for the replacement of Mahmoud Abbas as leader of the Palestinian Authority. The biggest news, however, was his call for new Israeli elections, arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanhu and the far-right members of his cabinet had also become “obstacles to peace.”
Schumer took up the shomer mantle again this past March, turning his sentinel gaze to the U.S., with the release of his book “Antisemitism in America: A Warning.”
With the combination of his Senate speech and new book, Schumer has positioned himself as a leading voice on what’s good (and bad) for the Jews — in New York, America and Israel. So one would think Schumer would have had something to say about the raging Jewish debate over Mamdani. Instead, his statement after Mamdani’s upset victory in the New York City mayoral primary treated the topic like a loaf of rye bread on Passover.
“I have known @ZohranKMamdani since we worked together to provide debt relief for thousands of beleaguered taxi drivers & fought to stop a fracked gas plant in Astoria,” Schumer posted on X the morning after the election. “He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity.” Schumer added: “I spoke with @ZohranKMamdani this morning and am looking forward to getting together soon.”
Schumer’s avoidance of the very topic that had riled so many pro-Israel supporters stood in sharp contrast to several other New York lawmakers.
