Schumer: It's Time for Netanyahu to Go

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer delivered a remarkable rebuke to Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, declaring that it's time for new leadership in the nation.

• Netanyahu "has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel," said Schumer, per the New York Times. "He has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows."
• "Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah," said Schumer in calling for new elections, per the AP.
• Schumer is not only the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, he's the highest-ranking Jewish official in US history, notes the Hill. His speech on the Senate floor "marks the clearest signal to Israel yet that frustrations over Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza are boiling over, and have reached the highest echelons of the US government," per the Washington Post.
• "As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7," Schumer said, referring to the Hamas attack on that date, per the Hillx. "The world has changed—radically—since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past."
• There was no immediate reaction from Netanyahu.

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