Republican Jewish Coalition: Schumer Crossed 'Red Line'

A political group supporting Jewish Republicans lashed out Thursday at Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's call for Israel to hold new elections and oust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid the continued bombardment of Gaza.

In a stinging response to Schumer's "anti-Israel speech," Republican Jewish Coalition leader Matt Brooks declared the New Yorker had "crossed a real red line."

"As Israel continues to righteously fight to defend itself from barbaric terrorists, the most powerful Democrat in Congress knifed the Jewish state in the back," a RJC statement said — deriding the Schumer speech as having "demanded that Israel's democratically-elected government be evicted from power and replaced by one more to his liking."

"Sen. Schumer crossed a real red line," the statement said. "It is outrageous and unacceptable to meddle in Israel's domestic politics by demanding that a democratic ally hold elections on our timetable, particularly when the Jewish state is fighting for its very survival."

The lashing noted that Schumer "has frequently described himself as the so-called 'Shomer', or guardian, of the Jewish people, but that his remarks Thursday were "a 'Shanda', a disgrace."

The denouncement ended with "a clarion call to take back the White House and US Senate from this radical Democrat leadership," accusing those leaders of "waging political warfare on our key ally Israel and rewarding terrorists."

The searing criticism comes as Senate Republicans question Schumer's outrage.

"Chuck Schumer's demand for new Israeli elections is inappropriate and offensive," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote in a statement on social media. "Israel is a close ally and a healthy, vibrant democracy. The last thing Israel needs is the 'foreign election interference' that Democrats so often decry here."

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