Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, will talk to Senate Republicans on Wednesday amid rising tension with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) over the future of Israel and its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu will speak to the Senate GOP group via video during their regular lunch, as shared by a spokesperson for Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) with The Hill.
The Israeli prime minister was supposed to address Senate Republicans last week during their yearly retreat, but he had to cancel at the last moment. Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog went in his place.
This comes after Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in history, called for new elections in Israel during the conflict in Gaza. He stated that Netanyahu has “lost his way” and that a peaceful two-state solution cannot be reached without new leadership.
Schumer’s comments caused a strong reaction on Capitol Hill and in Israel, leading Senate Republicans to strongly criticize Schumer for what they saw as interfering in a democratic nation’s elections.
Top Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, a member of the wartime Cabinet and considered Netanyahu’s top rival, also criticized Schumer’s speech.
“What he said is completely inappropriate,” Netanyahu told CNN on Sunday. “It’s inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there. That’s something the Israeli public decides on its own.”
Representative Mike Johnson (R-La.) also told reporters he talked with Netanyahu on Wednesday morning.
Schumer further defended his decision to speak out on Tuesday, saying he felt a responsibility to do so.
“This is so much a part of my core, my soul, my neshama,” Schumer told The New York Times, using the Hebrew term for soul. “I said to myself, ‘This may hurt me politically; this may help me politically.’ I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I didn’t do it.” The New York Times, using the Hebrew term for soul. “I said to myself, ‘This may hurt me politically; this may help me politically.’ I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I didn’t do it.”
