Biden praises Schumer’s speech about Netanyahu
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Friday praised a speech by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., in which he called for Israel to hold elections to replace Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu five months into Israel’s war with Hamas.
Biden told reporters that Schumer alerted senior White House staff in advance that he planned to deliver Thursday’s speech, in which Schumer from the Senate floor blasted Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace in the Middle East, saying he has “lost his way” by putting “political survival” ahead of the best interests of Israel.
“He made a good speech, and I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans,” Biden said.
Surveys by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research have shown American support for Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip is eroding.
January’s data showed 50% of adults believed the Israeli military response in Gaza had gone too far, an increase from November when 40% expressed the same. Among Democrats in both surveys, about 6 in 10 said they felt the military operation had gone too far.
Schumer, a close ally of Biden and the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in U.S. history, said Thursday that “it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7.”
The Biden administration has become increasingly at odds with Netanyahu over Israel’s refusal to scale back the war in Gaza and its efforts to get humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. Biden has faced increasing pressure from progressives and Arab Americans for his unwavering support of Israel in the months since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
On March 4, top White House officials including Vice President Kamala Harris met with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s wartime Cabinet and a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, who did not authorize Gantz’s trip to Washington. Gantz is widely considered to be Netanyahu’s most likely election opponent.
Contributing: The Associated Press