Sunday, March 24, 2024 | 2 a.m.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said what many of us have been thinking for a long time — that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has got to go.
Netanyahu, who is on trial for bribery and corruption, is widely unpopular, with a mere 15% of his countrymen wanting to see him in office once the war is over. But the longer he continues this war, the longer he can stay out of jail.
Schumer’s speech from the Senate floor had something for everyone. He began with a searing criticism of the horrific slaughter of innocent Israelis by Hamas on Oct. 7 and affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself.
But the main target of his speech was Netanyahu. Netanyahu and his far-right extremist Cabinet members have been too willing to tolerate massive numbers of innocent Palestinian deaths. In addition, they are unwilling to compromise and reject a two-state solution.
Schumer said a “single state controlled by Israel guarantees certain warfare forever,” and that a two-state solution is the only viable resolution.
He made it clear that the U.S. cannot tolerate Netanyahu’s handling of the war much longer and boldly suggested that the Israelis should replace their leader.
Although he was immediately criticized by Republicans as interfering with Israeli politics and by Democrats as lacking in criticism of Israel, Schumer said what needed to be said.
It is hard to dispute his speech’s bottom line — that Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah, and that is what’s happening under Netanyahu’s leadership.
