JERUSALEM — After experiencing its lowest support levels in months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's popularity has seen an uptick in the polls, which some say is due in part to the Biden administration and growing criticism from Democrats against the Jewish State.
Criticism increased this week across the political spectrum after New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer's speech calling for new elections.
“As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: Netanyahu's coalition no longer fits Israel's needs after October 7,” Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor. “The world has changed radically since then, and the Israeli people are being suffocated right now by a vision of government stuck in the past.”
Israel's Channel 14 published a poll on Wednesday, a day before Schumer's broadside against the Jewish state, pointing to the possibility that Netanyahu's conservative bloc could gain six additional seats in parliament after Minister without Portfolio Gideon Sa' ar. ended their partnership with Benny Gantz's National Unity Party.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, poses for a photo with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York on Capitol Hill in Washington on February 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Polls show Netanyahu would win 56 seats in the Israeli Knesset to form a new government. A bloc of parties needs 62 mandates.
Middle East expert Caroline Glick told Fox News Digital that this dynamic is playing out.
“Schumer talked about Netanyahu, but Netanyahu is simply acting in accordance with the public's demands. As a result, Schumer and the White House's calls for Netanyahu's overthrow only strengthen him politically,” Glick said.
The law of unintended consequences could also help Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister's support could solidify and gain new supporters thanks to Schumer's efforts to unseat a sitting head of state.
The New York senator is the highest-ranking Jewish politician in Congress.
Schumer anti-Netanyahu speech caused shocks throughout the Jewish State, which seeks to eradicate the last vestiges of the Hamas terrorist organization in Rafah, Gaza, as part of its ongoing war of self-defense.
President Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on September 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
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“Charles Schumer, like the Biden administration, fundamentally misunderstands the war and, as a result, cannot understand Israel's behavior,” said Glick, a former Netanyahu adviser. “This is not an anti-terrorist operation. It is a conventional war. Hamas did not carry out any terrorist attacks on October 7.
“Hamas invaded Israel with divisional force. That division of terrorist soldiers seized villages, bases and kibbutzim while Hamas carried out a massive cyber attack against Israeli critical infrastructure and first response equipment and hit Israel with thousands of rockets.
“This is not a tactical battle. It is a strategic contest for survival. Either Israel survives or Hamas survives. Israelis overwhelmingly understand this, which is why 75% of Israelis demand the conquest of Rafah and oppose a state. Palestinian”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting of Jewish leaders at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem on February 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
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Israelis responded to Schumer's call to overthrow Netanyahu.
“Regardless of my opinion of Netanyahu and his fitness to serve, Senator Schumer's call for new Israeli elections is deeply disrespectful of our democracy and sovereignty,” Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the United States during the Netanyahu administration, wrote in X .
“Israel is an ally, not a vassal state. Along with the United States, we are one of the few countries that has never known a second non-democratic government, and the only democracy that has never known a moment of peace. It certainly deserves that respect. “
On the streets of Jerusalem, Israelis had mixed opinions. Sitting outside with his family at the Aroma cafe in the German Colony neighborhood, Dov Fox told Fox News Digital: “I don't think foreign politicians should dictate how foreign countries should vote.”
He acknowledged that Schumer “has done a lot for Israel” but described his speech as “overreaching.”
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“Due to the [Israel] special relationship with the United States, Chuck Schumer is a very central player there,” Avi Kay told Fox News Digital. “We need to pay attention to what is being said. “Whether one agrees or disagrees with Chuck Schumer, I believe he has Israel's best interests in mind.”
Kay, who used Netanyahu's nickname Bibi, taken from his full name Benjamin, said: “Bibi is more interested in staying in power and that is not advantageous.”
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, faces the ultimate test of his leadership after the Hamas massacre of 1,200 people on October 7. His legacy and his own political survival are at stake.
