Prime Minister Netanyahu Speaks to Senate Republicans, Schumer Nixes Talk to Democrats

By Hamodia Staff

In a talk with Senate Republicans via videolink on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue its efforts to defeat the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

The talk came almost a week after Senate Democratic Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, gave a speech on the floor of the Senate in which he branded Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace, and urged Israel to go to new elections.

“I made it clear to him, that it’s not the business of the United States to be giving a democratic ally advice about when to have an election or what kind of military campaign they may be conducting,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.

Netanyahu offered to have a similar talk with Senate Democrats, but Schumer turned him down, saying that the issue should not be partisan.

“I care deeply about Israel and its long-term future. When you make the issue partisan, you hurt the cause of helping Israel,” Schumer said.

Netanyahu has long been aligned with Republicans, who reportedly asked him for an update on the war, the release of the hostages and the efforts to defeat Hamas.

“We told him Israel has every right to defend themselves and he said that’s exactly what they continue to do,” Senator John Barrasso said.

Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson told reporters he was contemplating sending an invitation to Netanyahu to address Congress. Invitations to foreign leaders are normally extended by both the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader.

Progressive Democrats have been pressuring President Biden to pressure Israel on what they say is a humanitarian crisis in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Senator Jim Risch (Idaho), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, related that Netanyahu addressed civilian casualties and the need to get more aid into Gaza, and that Netanyahu was “very supportive” of Bidens’s plan to build a temporary pier and bring in aid by sea.