Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Monday fired back at former US President Donald Trump, after Trump denounced the Democratic Party and at Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats.
“To make Israel a partisan issue only hurts Israel and the US-Israeli relationship. Trump is making highly partisan and hateful rants,” Schumer wrote on social media.
“I am working in a bipartisan way to ensure the US-Israeli relationship sustains for generations to come, buoyed by peace in the Middle East,” he added.
Trump’s comments were made in an interview he gave to his former advisor Sebastian Gorka on his radio show, and included criticism of Schumer’s recent speech in which he called for Israel to replace its government.
“The Democrat Party hates Israel…they also see a lot of votes. Don't forget, when you see those Palestinian marches, even I am amazed at how many people are in those marches. And guys like Schumer see that and to him it’s votes. I think it's votes more than anything else because he was always pro-Israel. He's very anti-Israel now,” Trump told Gorka.
Trump then said, “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves.”
The former President has in the past criticized some members of the US Jewish community for voting for candidates from the Democratic Party.
Last September, Trump criticized liberal Jews in a post on his Truth Social platform on Rosh Hashanah.
The unusual “greeting” from Trump included a graphic stating, "Just a quick reminder for liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed in false narratives!"
It added, "Let’s hope you learned from your mistake & make better choices moving forward! Happy New Year!”
A year prior, the former US President argued that American Jews do not appreciate what he has done for Israel.
“No President has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.,” he wrote.
“Those living in Israel, though, are a different story - Highest approval rating in the World, could easily be P.M.! U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel - Before it is too late!” added Trump.
Schumer’s speech, meanwhile, caused an uproar in both the US and Israel, even though President Joe Biden on Friday indicated he supported Schumer’s remarks.
"He made a good speech," Biden said in the Oval Office when asked by reporters asked about Schumer's remarks.
"He expressed serious concerns, shared not only by him but by many Americans," Biden continued, adding that his staff were notified about the speech in advance by Schumer.
Schumer, meanwhile, told Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne that his speech was anything but an attack on Israel.
“I spent two months thinking about this and wrestling with it,” Schumer told Dionne, arguing the speech was an attempt to shore up support for the Israel, particularly among young Americans.
“Too many people are turning against Israel because of their dislike for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” he claimed. “And I felt an imperative to show that you could be against Netanyahu and still be very pro-Israel, which of course I am.”
Schumer defended his call for early elections as consistent with the wishes Israelis themselves have expressed to pollsters.
“We’re not determining who Israel should pick,” Schumer told Dionne. “We’re just asking that they get a right to choose when so many people are just upset with the direction of the present government in Israel.”