US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Wednesday of a “dangerous” spike in attacks on Jews since the October 7 massacre by Hamas in Israel — urging Americans not to allow defense of Palestinian rights to creep into anti-Semitism.
In a 40-minute speech on the Senate floor that was notable for its deeply personal tone, the highest-ranked Jewish lawmaker in US history warned that hate attacks against the community’s businesses, politicians and students had become a “five-alarm fire that must be extinguished.”
“This problem has been steadily worsening in recent years, but after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, hate crimes against Jewish Americans have skyrocketed,” Schumer said.
The United States has seen a 388 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents since October 7, according to pro-Jewish lobby group the Anti-Defamation League. Officials have also warned of a sharp increase in attacks on Arab and Muslim communities in the US since then.
Schumer cited law enforcement figures showing that Jewish Americans face 55 percent of religiously-motivated hate crime, despite making up just two percent of the population.
“After October 7, Jewish Americans are feeling singled out, targeted, and isolated,” the 73-year-old Democrat added. “In many ways, we feel alone.”
President Joe Biden, also a Democrat, has announced new measures to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses after a spike since the start of the war in Israel that he said had left him “very concerned.”
As a major player in moves to resolve the conflict, Biden’s remarks have been more restrained than Schumer, who excoriated pro-Palestinian protesters allowing “legitimate criticism” of Israel to “cross into something darker.”
– ‘Hatred and bigotry’ –
“Anti-Semites are taking advantage of the pro-Palestinian movement to espouse hatred and bigotry towards Jewish people,” he said.
“But rather than call out this dangerous behavior for what it is, we see so many of our friends and fellow citizens, particularly young people who yearn for justice, unknowingly aiding and abetting their cause.”
Schumer’s comments came with the Senate considering a multi-billion-dollar package of aid for Israel that may get a vote as soon as next week, although calls for conditions to be placed on the cash have divided Congress.
The fighting began last month when Hamas militants poured over the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials, and kidnapping about 240.
Israel’s subsequent air and ground campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 15,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to Hamas officials, and reduced large parts of the north of the territory to rubble.
Schumer reflected on the agony he felt when he heard stories of the Hamas killings that reminded him of 30 family members in wartime Ukraine who were “machine-gunned down” on their porch for refusing to comply with Nazi soldiers’ orders.
“For Jewish people all across the world, the history of our trauma going back many generations is central to any discussion about our future,” Schumer said.
“Too many Americans, especially in our younger generation, don’t have a full understanding of this history.”
