Schumer, who is set to deliver a significant address on antisemitism, wrote, “Today, too many Americans are exploiting arguments against Israel and leaping toward a virulent antisemitism. The normalization and intensifying of this rise in hate is the danger many Jewish people fear most.”
Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official, noted a disturbing trend where the initial solidarity shown to Jewish Americans post-Oct. 7 has been overshadowed by a surge in hate crimes against Jews. He lamented the fact that this surge is being fueled by some who were once considered allies.
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As a descendant of Holocaust survivors, Schumer shared his personal anguish when he heard about Jews being targeted by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. He recounted the harrowing tale of his great-grandmother and her extended family being gunned down by Nazis in Ukraine. Schumer wrote, “Most Jewish Americans have similar stories — stories we learned at a young age, and that will stay imprinted on our hearts for as long as we live.”
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The Senate Majority Leader emphasized that the recent rise in antisemitism is more than a crisis for many Jewish people; it's a "five-alarm fire." He expressed his concern over the growing disparity between how Jewish people perceive the rise of antisemitism and how it is regarded by his non-Jewish friends.
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Schumer made a clear distinction between criticizing Israel's government, which he himself has done and is not inherently antisemitic, and denying Jews' right to a state of their own.
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He described the latter as “a glaring example of that double standard Jewish Americans so fiercely object to.”
Schumer's op-ed comes amid a significant increase in hate crimes against Jewish Americans. The Anti-Defamation League recorded a 388 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the two weeks following the Oct. 7 attack, compared to the same period the previous year. In New York City, Schumer's home state, there was a 214-percent spike in reported hate crimes against Jews last month compared to October 2022, according to the city’s crime statistics.
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Out of the 101 hate crimes reported last month in New York City, 69 were targeted at Jews. Other hate crimes included eight anti-Muslim incidents, seven incidents motivated by sexual orientation, and four anti-Black incidents.
Schumer concluded his op-ed with a plea to all Americans to stand with Jewish Americans and denounce antisemitism in all its forms. He wrote, “Americans are stewards of the flames of liberty, tolerance and equality that warm our melting pot and make it possible for Jewish Americans to prosper alongside Palestinian Americans as well as every other immigrant group.”
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