Schumer Says Antisemitism On The Left ‘Much Harder’ To Fight Than On The Right
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has long warned about antisemitism on the right — from neo-Nazis in Charlottesville to white nationalist conspiracy theories on the campaign trail.
But in his new book, set to publish Tuesday, he argues that the antisemitism coming from the left can be just as insidious — and, in some ways, even harder to fight.
In “Antisemitism in America: A Warning,” Schumer — who in 2021 became the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history — also calls out pro-Palestinian protesters who, he writes, can cross the line from legitimate criticism of Israel into dangerous antisemitic rhetoric.
Calling Israel’s war in Gaza “genocide” or chanting “from the river to the sea” fuels antisemitism and endangers Jews, Schumer argues, whether or not those who use such language realize its implications.
“Jewish people were subject, at least in my judgment, to the worst genocide ever,” Schumer said, referencing the Holocaust and his family members who died, in an interview with The Daily podcast posted Sunday by The New York Times.
For anti-war activists to accuse Israel of committing genocide in its war against Hamas is “vicious,” Schumer said. “You know what it does? It increases antisemitism because they’re making Israel and the Jewish people look like monsters, which they are not.”
Schumer traveled to Israel days after Oct. 7 and said the massacre in the Israeli kibuttzim reminded him of what happened to his great-grandmother, who lived in Ukraine — then part of Galicia — when the Nazis invaded in 1941. SS stormtroopers ordered her to gather all her children and grandchildren on her porch and gunned down all 17 members of the family.
Schumer’s remarks preview one of the central themes of his book: how antisemitism has morphed in American life and become a bipartisan problem, though one with different characteristics on the left and right. It also offers a personal perspective, tracing his journey from a Brooklyn childhood to becoming one of the most powerful figures in Washington.
The Democratic leader in the Senate is now facing calls to step down from his role after he backed a Republican spending bill to avoid a government shutdown over the weekend.
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Jacob Kornbluh is the Forward’s senior political reporter. Follow him on Twitter @jacobkornbluh or email kornbluh@forward.com.