Democrat congresswoman and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday defended Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s speech last week in which he said Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was an “obstacle to peace” in his country’s now roughly five-month war with Hamas in Gaza.
Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish politician in the country, also on Thursday called for new elections, in an apparent call for Israelis to oust Schumer.
“Chuck Schumer’s speech was an act of courage, an act of love for Israel,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, said on CNN.
She also attempted to use Netanyahu’s negative response to the Schumer’s comments to make her case.
“The prime minister’s presentation proved the necessity of Chuck Schumer’s speech,” Pelosi said.
In his speech on the Senate floor, Schumer also said Netanyahu had “lost his way,” and that he has been “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.”
