![\"Senator](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/14\/multimedia\/14dc-schumer-01-btcv\/14dc-schumer-01-btcv-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale\")
Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, on Thursday delivered a pointed speech on the Senate floor excoriating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel as a major obstacle to peace in the Middle East and calling for new leadership in Israel<\/a>, five months into the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many Democratic lawmakers have condemned Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s leadership and his right-wing governing coalition, and President Biden has even criticized the Israeli military\u2019s offensive in Gaza as \u201cover the top.\u201d But Mr. Schumer\u2019s speech amounted to the sharpest critique yet from a senior American elected official \u2014 effectively urging Israelis to replace Mr. Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI believe in his heart, his highest priority is the security of Israel,\u201d said Mr. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States. \u201cHowever, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Schumer added: \u201cHe has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The speech was the latest reflection of the growing dissatisfaction among Democrats, particularly progressives, with Israel\u2019s conduct of the war and its toll on Palestinian civilians, which has created a strategic and political dilemma for Mr. Biden. Republicans have tried to capitalize on that dynamic for electoral advantage, hugging Mr. Netanyahu closer as Democrats repudiate him. And on Thursday, they lashed out at Mr. Schumer for his remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, said on the Senate floor that it was \u201cgrotesque and hypocritical\u201d for Americans \u201cwho hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of the democratically elected leader of Israel.\u201d He called Mr. Schumer\u2019s move \u201cunprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Democratic Party doesn\u2019t have an anti-Bibi problem,\u201d Mr. McConnell said, referring to Mr. Netanyahu by his nickname. \u201cIt has an anti-Israel problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, called Mr. Schumer\u2019s remarks \u201cearth-shatteringly bad\u201d and accused him of \u201ccalling on the people of Israel to overthrow their government.\u201d And House Republicans, gathered in West Virginia for a party retreat, hastily called a news conference to attack Mr. Schumer for his comments and position themselves as the true friends of Israel in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Schumer\u2019s remarks came a day after Senate Republicans invited Mr. Netanyahu to speak as their special guest at a party retreat in Washington. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican, asked Mr. Netanyahu to address Republicans virtually, but he could not appear because of a last-minute scheduling conflict. Ambassador Michael Herzog, Israel\u2019s envoy to the United States, spoke in his place and also addressed the House G.O.P. gathering on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his speech at the Capitol, Mr. Schumer, who represents a state with more than 20 percent of the country\u2019s Jewish population, was careful to assert that he was not trying to dictate any electoral outcome in Israel. He prefaced his harsh criticism of Mr. Netanyahu with a long defense of the country, which he said American Jews \u201clove in our bones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Schumer said there had been an \u201cinaccurate perception\u201d of the war that lays too much blame on Israel for civilian deaths in Gaza without focusing enough on how Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields. And he acknowledged how difficult it was for traumatized Israelis to contemplate the possibility of a two-state solution at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he was unsparing in his criticism of Mr. Netanyahu, calling the prime minister one of the top obstacles to achieving peace in the Middle East, along with Hamas, \u201cradical right-wing Israelis\u201d and Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, who he also said should be replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7,\u201d Mr. Schumer said, referring to the day of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. \u201cThe world has changed \u2014 radically \u2014 since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Schumer said the only solution to the decades-old conflict was a two-state solution: \u201ca demilitarized Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in equal measures of peace, security, prosperity and dignity.\u201d He said Mr. Netanyahu, who has rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood, was jeopardizing Israel\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt this critical juncture, I believe a new 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,\u201d Mr. Schumer said, adding that he believed a majority of the Israeli public \u201cwill recognize the need for change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice. There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after Oct. 7.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Schumer gave White House officials advance notice that he would be making the speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe fully respect his right to make those remarks and to decide for himself what he\u2019s going to say on the Senate floor,\u201d said John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman. \u201cHe obviously feels strongly about this. We understand and respect that. This wasn\u2019t about approval or disapproval or anything in any way, but he did give us a heads-up that he was going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Schumer\u2019s speech was the second time since Oct. 7 that he has taken to the Senate floor to address the Israeli-Hamas war. The conflict has prompted him to think more deeply and speak more openly about his Jewish faith and heritage, as well as the moral and political dilemmas the war has presented for Jews in Israel and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In November, Mr. Schumer made a deeply personal speech condemning the rise of antisemitism in America<\/a> that has flared since Israel began retaliating against Hamas for its attack. Those remarks appeared to be mostly directed at members of his own party; he warned that some liberals and young people were \u201cunknowingly aiding and abetting\u201d antisemitism in the name of social justice. Mr. Schumer has since spoken to publishers about writing a book on antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Thursday, his speech was aimed squarely at Mr. Netanyahu and far-right members of his governing coalition, who Mr. Schumer said were falling short of Jewish values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Herzog had a stern response. \u201cIsrael is a sovereign democracy,\u201d he wrote on social media. \u201cIt is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his remarks, Mr. Schumer said that Mr. Netanyahu refused to \u201cdisavow Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir and their calls for Israelis to drive Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe won\u2019t commit to a military operation in Rafah that prioritizes protecting civilian life,\u201d Mr. Schumer said. \u201cHe won\u2019t engage responsibly in discussions about a \u2018day after\u2019 plan for Gaza, and a longer-term pathway to peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Schumer said that if Mr. Netanyahu and his current coalition remained in power, \u201cthen the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Underscoring how contentious the issue of Israel is in American politics, Mr. Schumer\u2019s speech was criticized by both the right and the left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Layla Elabed, the campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, an antiwar group of activists who voted \u201cuncommitted\u201d in the state\u2019s Democratic presidential primary, said that \u201cSenator Schumer is beginning to shift but far too slowly and with little substance for what actions Biden can take now to stop the outrageous civilian death toll in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicholas Fandos\u00a0and\u00a0Peter Baker\u00a0contributed reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Annie Karni<\/a>\u00a0is a congressional correspondent for The Times. She writes features and profiles, with a recent focus on House Republican leadership.\u00a0More about Annie Karni<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Prime](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/14\/multimedia\/14dc-schumer-khzf\/14dc-schumer-khzf-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale\")