Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud) accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of being a "self-hating Jew" and called the Senator a "Palestinian" over Schumer's support for radical left-wing Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani.
In a post to X today (Thursday), Chikli wrote: "The phenomenon of Jews who hate their own people is a well-documented and recurring pattern throughout history. It’s called a self-hating Jew. The new form of antisemitism that's no longer based on race, but rather on the denial of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, has enabled some Jews to participate in the campaign of incitement and hatred against their nation."
"We see this with Jewish senators and members of Congress in the Democratic Party, such as the 'Palestinian' Chuck Schumer, who is promoting the candidacy of a Hamas fan advocating the globalization of the Intifada," he stated.
The minister also included the Israeli Haaretz newspaper in his criticism of "self-hating Jews" over the newspaper's publishing of accusations of genocide against the State of Israel.
Chikli's use of the term 'Palestinian' to describe Senator Schumer echoes the language used by US President Donald Trump to describe Schumer.
During a campaign rally in summer 2024, Trump told the crowd: "Look at a guy like Senator Schumer. I've known him a long time. I come from New York. He's become a Palestinian. He's a Palestinian now. Congratulations."
"He was very loyal to Israel and to Jewish people," Trump continued. "He's Jewish, but he's become a Palestinian, because they have a couple more votes or something."
In another campaign rally, Trump stated that Schumer had "refused to shake the Prime Minister's hand. Chuck Schumer has become a Palestinian." He added that Schumer "has become a proud member of Hamas."
Following Zohran Mamdani's surprise victory in last month's Democratic primaries, Schumer refused to criticize Mamdani's extreme policies and praised the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist instead.
"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 wrote. “He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity.”
Mamdani's candidacy has caused concern among the New York Jewish community due to his defense of the phrase "globalize the Intifada," widely considered a call for violence against Jews around the world, his refusal to support Israel's right to exist as a Jewish State, and his refusal to support legislation condemning the Holocaust.
Schumer himself wrote in a book he recently published on the recent rise of antisemitism in the US about the danger of the term "globalize the Intifada," writing: “Frequently used expressions such as ‘globalize the intifada’ sound to many of us like a call to not only kill the Jews in Israel, but to kill all the Jews worldwide.”