US Senate Leader Chuck Schumer sounded the alarm on Wednesday against the “dangerous” increase in anti-Semitic attacks in the United States since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
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“American Jews feel targeted and isolated,” the Democrat lamented in a speech before the Senate. “In many ways, we feel alone,” said the man who presents himself as the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States.
During a speech that lasted about forty minutes, and in a serious tone, Chuck Schumer criticized pro-Palestinian demonstrators who, he said, had allowed “legitimate criticism” of Israel to turn “into something much darker.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, an American association that fights anti-Semitism, the number of anti-Semitic incidents has increased by 388% since October 7.
“This problem has continued to worsen in recent years, but after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, anti-Semitic crimes rose dramatically,” Chuck Schumer warned.
US authorities also warned of a sharp increase in attacks against Arab and Muslim Americans.
The Senate leader also revealed how details of Hamas’ crimes “resonated” with his own personal history: in 1941, the Nazis shot 30 members of his family in Ukraine.
“Too many Americans, especially among the younger ones, do not fully understand this history,” he lamented.
