There are a lot of true villains in politics: people who are filled with hate and are true supporters of evil — Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, Pressley, et al. They seek to destroy Western culture and the United States and to prop up evil regimes and terrorist organizations. It’s especially easy to see them right now as they try to justify the evil of Hamas, as they try to destroy Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, and they strive to tear down our country with riots on college campuses and even the Capitol.
But none of them disappoint or anger me as much as Chuck Schumer, a man who has a significant Jewish educational background aware of the history of his people and the world. He has throughout his career pointed out that his last name means “guardian” and that he would always be the “guardian of Israel” in Washington.
I write this as a Rabbi who is deeply saddened by the fall of this man. While I have never agreed with much of his politics, he was for many years someone who deserved respect for acting on his beliefs. But he has truly fallen from that status, seduced by seeking personal power over personal values. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in his abandonment of Israel.
For most of his career, Schumer did try to embody his name and protect Israel. He campaigned hard to revoke the tax-free status of a Palestinian charity in 1994. He harshly criticized Gaza for electing the terrorist organization of Hamas, calling on Israel to “strangle Gaza economically until they see that’s not the way to go” and repeatedly and publicly supported Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
In 2016, he co-sponsored a Senate resolution objecting to the United Nations Resolution 2334, which condemned Israel for building in “occupied territories” and he even vocally criticized Obama for not supporting Israel. In 2017, he co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, which made it a federal crime for Americans to boycott Israel. Most notably, Schumer even went against his personal disdain for President Trump in May of 2018 when he passionately praised Trump for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Yet now, only five years later, Schumer not only is fighting against the House-approved bill of November 2 to give $14 billion in aid to Israel, but he also refuses to even let it be discussed on the Senate floor. What happened in five years to make Chuck Schumer, whose Hebrew name is Yeshaya ben Avraham, totally abandon freedom, Israel, and his Jewish heritage in favor of socialism, authoritarianism, and terrorists?
Cowardice. Schumer’s 180 degree shift is caused simply by his fear of losing personal power. Succumbing to his “yetzer hara” (a Jewish term meaning “evil inclination”), Chuck Schumer has totally forsaken his values, his family history, his religion, and the United States out of fear of losing personal power.
To accuse a senator of being wrong is common, but to call a senator a coward is rare. But in this case, it is one hundred percent accurate. For a Rabbi to say this publicly is profoundly sad, but for the preservation of Yeshaya ben Abraham/Chuck Schumer’s very soul… it must be done.
Schumer went down this path of cowardice starting in June of 2018. Remember that in May of that year, he publicly lauded his greatest rival, President Trump, for moving the embassy. But on June 26, 2018, a bartender named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley in a Democratic primary and then would go on to win the seat for New York’s 14th congressional district. Crowley and Schumer had been connected since 1999 when they were both initially elected to the House and Senate respectively. Schumer watched his old friend lose power to this bartender… and he got scared.
With this bartender who can intellectually barely grasp political issues winning an election against his friend, Schumer got frightened. He tucked his tail between his legs and got on board the AOC train. He rejected the values he had lived by in order to not have Crowley’s fate and changed his positions on multiple issues in order to not be challenged by an Ocasio-Cortez type of candidate or the woman herself.
This can be seen most clearly in his sudden shift on everything having to do with Israel. Most sadly, Chuck Schumer is right now avoiding supporting Israel in this war because Ocasio-Cortez and her anti-Semitic friends like Tlaib and Omar hate Jews and want Israel destroyed.
Schumer knows what Hamas is. He has always expressed his recognition that it is evil, and he is undoubtedly deeply aware of their horrific and depraved actions on October 7 and for the last month. I have no doubt that this man’s heart and soul ache in seeing the videos that Hamas made of raping women, kidnapping the elderly, and killing children. But he is choosing to ignore it all out of fear that standing against Ocasio-Cortez will lead to him losing political power.
To betray all of his personal values in favor of retaining his office is the ultimate act of a coward. To ignore the history of his people and personal ancestors who experienced pogroms and persecutions out of his fear that he might be challenged by an anti-Semite for his office is a degradation of all that is good in the world, and the definition of cowardice.
Chuck Schumer, also known his whole life in his temple and family as "Yeshaya ben Avraham," has transformed from a guardian of Israel to a coward. Unless he makes a quick and demonstrative shift to return to his values, there is no penance, not even Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, that will be able to redeem his soul.
Yeshaya, as Schumer has publicly said, is the Hebrew name for Isaiah. Schumer needs to remember the journey of his biblical namesake. According to the Midrash, Isaiah offered to be a prophet for the Jewish people, but God gave instructions to the future prophet first. “If you are ready to be insulted and even beaten by them, you may accept My message. If not, you need to renounce it.” Isaiah was ready for the insults and became one of the greatest leaders in history.
In 2017, Schumer declared on the Senate floor that “anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism”, but that was before his fear of Ocasio-Cortez and losing power. For most of his career, Chuck Schumer was prepared for insults and more as he defended Israel. Now, especially by not supporting unencumbered aid to Israel in her great time of need, and by not even bringing the discussion to the Senate floor, he is betraying everything of value to his soul. In becoming such a coward, he needs to renounce his position as a senator, not for politics, but for his own soul’s survival.
Or he could choose to go back to his lifetime values, return to his unconditional support of Israel, and no longer live his life in fear of anti-Semites like Ocasio-Cortez removing him from power.
Typically, an article is written to educate or persuade the reader. My prayer is that Chuck Schumer, Yeshaya ben Avraham, somehow reads this appeal for his very soul and chooses to return to the values he embodied for so many years by bringing and supporting the House bill to send unconditional aid to Israel. For Israel. For the United States, which desperately needs the presence of Israel, the only democracy and American ally in the region. And for the sake of Yeshaya ben Avraham.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member