[ad_1]
It hurts when an ally tries to interfere in your country’s politics, but it hurts even more when it comes from someone you’re very close to and supportive of.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called for an election in Israel to find Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s successor, marking the most direct opposition to an Israeli leader by a U.S. official since Oct. 7. became.
Schumer expressed this view on the Senate floor, warning that if current conditions continue, the United States may need to intervene more directly to promote long-term peace. Schumer, a Jewish Democratic senator from New York, said Netanyahu’s leadership is one of four major obstacles to peace. Other obstacles include the actions of Hamas and his allies, extremists in Israel’s right-wing government, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“If we fail to overcome them, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza will descend into the same conditions of violence that we have experienced for the past 75 years,” he warned.
He said the US government should demand that Israel act with a future two-state solution in mind. “We should not be forced into a position where we explicitly support the actions of the Israeli government, including bigots who reject a Palestinian state.”
Netanyahu vs. Schumer: Election interference
Joe Biden endorsed Schumer. “He gave a good speech. I think he expressed serious concerns that not only he but many Americans share,” the US president said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Schumer of opposing the Israeli people by calling for new elections, according to reports. Jerusalem Post’s Tova Lazarov. “It’s inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there,” Netanyahu told CNN’s Dana Bash. Israel is “not a banana republic” and its people choose that.
Mr. Schumer has a pro-Israel track record that cannot be ignored. In 1994, he, along with the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Congress, granted tax-exempt status to the Holy Land Foundation, a Palestinian-American charity and the nation’s largest Muslim charity until its closure in 2001. campaigned to have it revoked.
In 2010, Schumer drew criticism at an Orthodox Union event when he emphasized the importance of humanitarian aid while calling for economic strangulation of Gaza to prevent aid to Hamas. He attributed the West Bank’s economic prosperity to cooperation with Israel and justified Israel’s blockade of Gaza as a means of promoting moderation.
Schumer has consistently supported Israel, particularly during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, and in 2018 denied any connection between Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the conflict overall. He also co-sponsored a Senate resolution opposing UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemns settlement construction, and criticized the Obama administration’s abstention.
In 2017, he co-sponsored an anti-Israel anti-boycott law, proposing penalties for participating in boycotts against Israel and settlements based on Israeli government actions. He also introduced a resolution celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification and praised then-President Donald Trump’s move of his embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 after decades.
In the complex realm of international relations, the impulse to advocate democracy and peace is a noble one, but the path to such ideals must be tread carefully, respecting the sovereignty and will of each nation’s peoples. .
Mr. Schumer’s intentions are rooted in a long history of support for Israel and reflect a genuine desire for peace and stability in the region, but he does not want to intervene in the political processes of other democracies, especially allies like Israel. Doing so raises serious concerns about respect for national self-determination. And there may be unintended consequences.
The delicate balance between supporting allies and respecting their autonomy requires delicate understanding and restraint.
External voices can play a role in promoting dialogue and peace, but the final decision-making power rests with the people concerned.
As history has often shown, external interference, even with good intentions, in the politics of other countries can complicate and even exacerbate tensions.
Since most Israelis reject a two-state solution, promoting a two-state solution requires respecting the principles of sovereignty and national self-determination. Encourage dialogue, support and cooperation. But at the same time, let us not forget the importance of allowing each country to decide its own course democratically.
[ad_2]
Source link
