Chuck Schumer isn’t just a powerful senator, he’s a true believer in Israel. He said to AIPAC in 2010 that Schumer means guardian and God had made him the guardian of Israel: “Am Yisrael Chai. In Israel and America the Jewish nation lives now and forever.”
Well at last, a group has formed to pressure Schumer on this question. There’s going to be a demonstration outside Schumer’s office Monday. And friends are using the greatest tool against him: satire. The twitter feed Schumer 4 Palestine started a couple of days ago and it’s been simply brilliant. It paints Schumer as an ingenuous man who is finally discovering the truth. Some of the great tweets:
My opinions on this matter are evolving.
Wow, the facts in your case are truly troubling,
@stevesalaita! I would love it if you would#shareyourthoughts. But please keep it civil.I keep hearing
#ZionismIsNotJudaism,#JudaismIsNotZionism. It has truly opened my eyes to a new POV.Wow, it was so much easier before when I only listened to one POV. But I’m learning so much now.
How come @NYGovCuomo spent so much time on a trip to Israel? I’m a NYS taxpayer and I want him to focus on fixing our state!
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@IPMN, I hear you have some experience with#BDS. Any info you can provide would be a big help! Still waiting on staff report. [IPMN is the Israel Palestine mission network of the Presbyterian church, they’re very progressive on the isssue.]
This is from the new Schumer 4 Palestine Facebook page:
Though I have been the “guardian” of Israel in the United States Senate for many years, I want to hear from all my constituents – including the Palestinian Diaspora and their allies around the state. What do you think about US policy in Israel/Palestine?
And on Monday, a coalition of NY groups led by Jews Say No and Jewish Voice for Peace will be holding a protest in front of the senator’s office (and Kirsten Gillibrand’s office too) to highlight Israeli human rights abuses. Here’s the flyer:
Please join us in front of Senator Schumer and Gillibrand’s office:
Monday, October 6, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
780 Third Avenue (between 48th and 49th Streets)FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN
Let’s tell our Senators and the broader community:
– Israel’s ongoing human rights violations are absolutely unacceptable!
– US financial support for Israeli human rights violations is entirely unacceptable!We demand that our Senators hold hearings to apply to Israel the provisions of US law (Foreign Assistance Act, Leahy Law) that require Congress to cut off US aid to a country’s armed forces that have committed a “gross violation of human rights.”
Among Israel’s more recent human rights violations and war crimes are:
– Arrests and detentions of Palestinians—sometimes for months or years
– Mass confiscations of Palestinian lands
– Bombings and assassinations of civilians in Gaza, in homes, mosques, beaches, hospitals and UN schoolsOur actions will include:
– Holding signs with our messages on a picket line
– Simulating a mock check-point
– Reading the names of the Palestinians killed by the idf in Gaza
– Music from the great Dave Lippman and the irresistible Rude Mechanical Orchestra
– Street theatre of all types
– A rally at the end of the day
– Handing out our leaflets and talking to passersby—and more!CO-SPONSORED by Jewish Voice for Peace/NY and Jews Say No!
ENDORSED bY Adalah NY; CODEPINK NYC; Defense for Children International Palestine; Direct Action Front for Palestine (DAFP); Granny Peace Brigade; JVP-Westchester; Middle East Crisis Response; Palestinian Rights Committee of Upper Hudson Peace Action; Palestine sub-committee, National Lawyers Guild; Northern Manhattan Neighbors for Peace and Justice; SJP SUNY New Paltz; WESPAC Foundation; WE WILL NOT BE SILENT; CUNY4Palestine; SJP at the New School (list in formation)
This effort is a partial fulfillment of what MJ Rosenberg said a long time ago, these hacks will start to take a different view when they are forcefully questioned on their support for Israel. Yes, Schumer will continue to pipe hasbara and run away from this crowd. But we are actually coming inside, bit by bit, and the day will come when Schumer will make the statement in my headline.
He needs a Teachout-style primary challenge with an antiwar, anti-NSA, anti-Wall St. focus, he might have some similar weaknesses as Cuomo.
He may think that you’re Bigfoot — a supposedly mythical creature that’s not really supposed to be seen walking around in broad daylight. He may run for a camera.
Good luck to you. This is exactly what needs to happen to burst through the bubble these folks live in. Why should a United States Senator be a defender of another country, anyway?
Can’t wait to read the follow-up post . . .
Hooray!
Now they getting on the right track…..in the right faces.
But they should kick it up even more.
As Steve Clemons wrote about Schumer 5 years ago……”Does Schumer work for the US or for Israel?”
I can understand Jewish groups not wanting to use the ‘traitor’ accusation/ label against Jewish politicians but if you want to put the fear of God in these politicians, Jews and Gentiles alike, thats what you use.
‘Civility is for dancing classes”
Why is it considered “anti – Semitic” to call out the treason of certain Jewish politicians? I suppose if one only calls out Jewish traitors, its a problem, but I see John McCain and Lindsey Grahm in the same vein that I do Jewish supremacists like Shumer.