The words recently uttered by the majority leader of the US Senate, the Democrat, have caused a real uproar Chuck Schumeron Benjamin Netanyahu. “I also believe that the prime minister Netanyahu has lost its way, allowing its political survival to take precedence over Israel's interests,” he said last Thursday, before adding: “As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: the coalition of Netanyahu no longer meets Israel's needs after October 7.” “I believe new elections are the only way to allow for healthy and open decision-making about Israel's future,” she continued. Although the White House had initially dismissed the senator's words as his personal opinions, the following day Joe Biden he actually seemed to share them. “He made a good speech,” said the American president, referring to the statements of Schumer. “I think he expressed serious concerns shared not only by him but by many Americans,” she added.
Needless to say, such blatant interference in Israeli internal politics has triggered a series of harsh reactions. “Israel is not a banana republic but a proud and independent democracy that has elected as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu”, replied the party of Netanyahuthe Likud, and then added: “We expect the senator Schumer respect the elected government of Israel and do not undermine it at its base. This is always true, even more so in times of war.”
The Republicans also showed themselves on a war footing. “It is simply wrong for an American leader to play such a controversial role in Israeli politics while our closest ally in the region is engaged in an existential battle for its very survival,” said the Speaker of the US House, Mike Johnson. “We must stand with Israel. We must give our friends and allies our full support. We must stand by them and support them at this time. But what you see from the White House and the Democrats in the Senate is exactly the opposite,” she continued. Criticisms a Biden And Schumer they also came from Donald Trump. “The Democrats are very harmful to Israel,” declared the Republican presidential candidate, also accusing the White House occupant of having “dumped Israel”.
Instead, it was the former Israeli prime minister who supported the statements of the Democratic senator, Yair Lapid. “The senator's speech Schumer is the demonstration that, one after the other, Netanyahu is losing Israel's biggest supporters in the United States,” he said. We remember that Lapid he is a well-known opponent of the current Israeli prime minister and who boasts historic ties with the US Democratic Party.
Now, it is quite clear that Schumer could hardly have uttered those words without first agreeing them with the White House. The question therefore arises as to what the objective is. That the relationships between Biden And Netanyahu are quite tense, it's certainly no mystery. A first interpretation is therefore that the current American administration wants to weaken the Israeli government, perhaps to encourage Israel's return to power Lapid. However, it should be remembered that, when he was prime minister in July 2022, the latter did not hide a certain irritation towards the Iranian policy of Biden. A policy which, even today, continues to prove fundamentally bland and worrying for the Jewish State.
Another hypothesis is that the words of Schumer must be read through the lenses of American domestic politics. Notoriously, large sectors of the left-dem are on pro-Palestinian and critical positions Biden on the Gaza crisis. The president, who is in the midst of a re-election campaign, fears suffering defections at the polls, especially in crucial states such as Michigan and Minnesota (where there are significant American Muslim communities). If things were like this, Biden it would still risk a boomerang effect. His campaign is in fact courting the voters of Nikki Haley with the aim of boycotting Trump. However the Haley is on strongly pro-Israeli positions: hardly words like those of Schumer they may therefore be attractive to supporters of the former UN ambassador.
Finally, from the point of view of foreign policy, a similar jab at Netanyahu, without having first at least restored deterrence towards Tehran, risks only making the Iranians more bold. A scenario which, in addition to further putting Israel at risk, could contribute to weakening US influence in the Middle East.
