WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sounded the alarm Wednesday about a “surge in antisemitism” that he said was fueled by pro-Hamas “whistwhistles” at protests denouncing Israel – as a Jewish teacher had to hide last week from a mob at his Queens school watched from the gallery. .
In an emotional 40-minute remark, Schumer (D-NY) blasted fellow Democrats and news outlets for their response to the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of about 1,200 people across southern Israel and the Jewish state’s invasion of over the Gaza Strip.
“American Jews feel alone in the face of all this — abandoned by too many of our friends and allies at a time when it matters most, as antisemitic hate crimes skyrocket across the country,” said Schumer, who also published a New York Times op-ed Wednesday in which he called antisemitism a “five-alarm fire.”
The 73-year-old Schumer, the most powerful Democrat in Congress and the highest-ranking Jew in US politics, recounted the 1941 Nazi killing of his ancestors and extended family in Ukraine, and likened Adolf Hitler’s slogans to them. used in modern day protests.
“While many protesters no doubt saw their actions as compassionate expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people, for many American Jews, we feel that in many instances some of the most extreme rhetoric gives license to the darker ideas that always lurk beneath the surface. the surface of every issue involving Jews,” he said.
“Antisemites have always traded in coded language and actions to define Jews as undeserving of the rights and privileges afforded to other groups.”
Chuck Schumer rejects rising antisemitism following attacks on Israel Oct. 7. AP
While the Brooklyn Democrat did not name the alleged spreaders of antisemitism, some of his references — such as The Nation magazine, which recently labeled a large pro-Israel rally in DC a “hate rally” — are clear.
Schumer repeatedly denounced the chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which was recently defended by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) before the Republican-led House voted on Nov. 7 to censure him.
“Can you blame Jews for hearing a loud and clear antisemitic message whenever we hear that chant?” Schumer asked.
“We shouldn’t accept this kind of language from anyone, especially if we accept other racist dog whistles like calling on the ‘welfare queen’ to criticize the safety net program or calling COVID-19 a ‘Chinese virus.'”
Schumer repeatedly denounced the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” James Keivom
Schumer then asked: “Can you understand why Jews isolate themselves when we hear some of Hamas’s praises and its evil slogans? Can you blame us for feeling vulnerable, more than 80 years after Hitler wiped out half the world’s Jewish population?”
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The Senate leader went on to say that he was appalled by the description of Hamas’ actions as part of a “decolonization” movement – arguing that Jews did not colonize present-day Israel and that a large number of Israelis are or are descendants of the approximately 600,000 Mizrahi Jews “expelled forced” from Arab countries following the establishment of that country in 1948.
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“American Jews are alarmed to see some of our own citizens justifying a brutal terrorist attack because of the actions of the Israeli government — a brutal, bloody and systematic massacre of innocent women, men, children, the elderly,” Schumer said. said.
“Worse still, in some cases, people celebrated what happened, describing it as the destiny that the ‘occupiers’ deserved and calling for ‘glory to the martyrs’ who carried out this heinous attack. That happened here in America.
“Many of the people who express these sentiments in America are not neo-Nazis or card-carrying Klan members or Islamic extremists. They are in many cases people whom most liberal American Jews have previously felt were their ideological fellow travelers. Not so long ago, many of us marched together for black and brown lives. We stand against anti-Asian hatred. We protest bigotry against the LGBTQ community. We fight for reproductive justice.”
The Senate leader went on to say that he was concerned by the description of Hamas’ actions as part of a “decolonization” movement.
Schumer said it is important to denounce antisemitism because social sentiment has historically changed rapidly in other countries.
“Growing up, I remember my grandfather telling me that he rooted for Germany over Russia in World War I because the Germans treated the Jews so much better than the Russians.
“When the Nazis first marched in the streets and held rallies denouncing the so-called ‘international financiers,’ ‘war profiteers,’ ‘Communists,’ many Germans of goodwill either kept silent or marched with them, not necessarily realizing what they were . aiding and abetting,” the senator reminded.
“But when Adolf Hitler took the podium just a few years later in the Reichstag, it was clear then that the terms ‘international financier,’ ‘war monger,’ ‘Communist’ represented the Jews.”
Schumer went on to declare: “Crimes against Israel after October 7th too often cross the line into brazen and widespread antisemitism, the likes of which we haven’t seen in generations in this country – if ever.” Twitter/@StuartMeissner
He added: “Obviously, many of those marching here in the US do not have any bad intentions. But when Jews hear chants like ‘From the river to the sea,’ the founding slogan of Hamas, a terrorist group unabashed about their goal of exterminating Jews in Israel and around the world, we are alarmed.
“When we saw signs in the crowd that read ‘By all means’ after the most violent attack ever against Israeli civilians, we were shocked by the common cry of barbarity. When we see protesters at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade comparing the holocaust equivalent of the Israeli military to defeating Hamas in self-defense of their own people, we are appalled.
“And when we see so many people in news organizations remain neutral about the basic absurdity of these allegations and actions, we are deeply disappointed. More than anything else, we worry — naturally, given the twists and turns of history — about where these actions and sentiments may eventually lead.”
Schumer went on to declare: “The crimes against Israel after October 7th too often cross the line into brazen and widespread antisemitism, the likes of which we have not seen in generations in this country — if ever.
“That’s why we need to name it clearly whenever we see it,” he added. “After October 7, when boycotts were organized against Jewish businesses in Philadelphia that had nothing to do with Israel, that was antisemitism. After October 7, when swastikas appeared in Jewish delis on the Upper East Side, it was antisemitism.
“After October 7, when protesters in California shouted at American Jews, ‘Hitler should have destroyed you,’ that was antisemitism. After October 7, when a Jewish US senator was threatened with violence because of his views on Israel, that was antisemitism. After October 7, when students on college campuses across the country wearing yarmulkes or displaying Jewish stars were harassed, verbally abused, pushed, even spat on and punched, that was antisemitism.
“After October 7, when a leading left-wing author and magazine labeled a pro-Israel rally in Washington a ‘hate rally,’ that was antisemitism. I attended that rally, like tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of others, because I believe there should be a place of refuge for Jews, not because I want violence against Palestinians or anyone else.”
Schumer said he wanted his remarks to appeal particularly to young people, who polls show are less supportive of Israel. James Keivom
DD Guttenplan, editor of The Nation, dismissed Schumer’s accusations of antisemitism, saying: “We are pleased to see Sen. Schumer read The Nation, even though he completely misrepresented the meaning of Dave Zirin’s work. A closer reading – or a cursory glance – will make it clear that Zirin is calling for a ‘March for Israel’ for giving a platform to antisemites. We support his report in its entirety. But since Dave was there, and I wasn’t, I’ll let him speak for himself.”
Zirin, the author of the piece, added, “For me as a Jew, ‘Never again’ means that Jews will no longer stand by while civilians are massacred. Chuck Schumer clearly has a different definition in mind. I know what I saw at the Stand with Israel rally. I see Chuck Schumer joining forces with right-wing Christian Zionists [House Speaker] Mike Johnson and shared the stage with the famous anti-Jewish fanatic Rev. John Hagee. I also saw a standing ovation for the President of Israel [Isaac] Herzog, who has called for total war against all Palestinians. Schumer either spends the day with his head in the sand or supports an alliance like this. My fear is that it is the latter and calling the rally a hate march could not be more appropriate.”
Tlaib’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on Schumer’s reference to the slogan he defended.
The top Senate Democrat’s speech followed apparent hate crimes against both Jewish Americans and Palestinians, which Schumer also condemned — and the speech was immediately praised by his Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who described it as “extraordinary. “
“I share his disgust with the alarming rise of antisemitism in America,” McConnell said.
Schumer said he wanted his statement to appeal specifically to young people, who polls show are less supportive of Israel, and that “those who tend to examine the world through the lens of the oppressor rather than the oppressed should note that thousands of years ago, Jewish history was defined by oppression .”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
