There are a lot of true villains in politics: people who are filled with hate and are true supporters of evil — Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, Pressley, et al. They seek to destroy Western culture and the United States and to prop up evil regimes and terrorist organizations. It’s especially easy to see them right now as they try to justify the evil of Hamas, as they try to destroy Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, and they strive to tear down our country with riots on college campuses and even the Capitol.
But none of them disappoint or anger me as much as Chuck Schumer, a man who has a significant Jewish educational background aware of the history of his people and the world. He has throughout his career pointed out that his last name means “guardian” and that he would always be the “guardian of Israel” in Washington.
I write this as a Rabbi who is deeply saddened by the fall of this man. While I have never agreed with much of his politics, he was for many years someone who deserved respect for acting on his beliefs. But he has truly fallen from that status, seduced by seeking personal power over personal values. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in his abandonment of Israel.
For most of his career, Schumer did try to embody his name and protect Israel. He campaigned hard to revoke the tax-free status of a Palestinian charity in 1994. He harshly criticized Gaza for electing the terrorist organization of Hamas, calling on Israel to “
strangle Gaza economically until they see that’s not the way to go” and repeatedly and publicly supported Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
In 2016, he co-sponsored a Senate resolution objecting to the United Nations Resolution 2334, which condemned Israel for building in “occupied territories” and he even vocally criticized Obama for not supporting Israel. In 2017, he co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, which made it a federal crime for Americans to boycott Israel. Most notably, Schumer even went against his personal disdain for President Trump in May of 2018 when he passionately praised Trump for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.