Sen. Chuck Schumer: Those Who Warn Israel Of Boycotts ‘Have It All Wrong’

[Purveyor]

Posted on March 3, 2014 by JNS.org.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. Credit: U.S. Congress.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. Credit: U.S. Congress.

(JNS.org) Without mentioning Secretary of State John Kerry by name, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) apparently took a shot at comments on boycotts of Israel that Kerry made last month in Germany.

Those with “even with the best of intentions” who warn Israel that it will face increased boycotts if it does not reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians “have it all wrong,” Schumer said at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference.

“Those quote unquote friends [of Israel] should be condemning the boycotts in any possible way, weakening them,” Schumer said.

Schumer’s remarks come after Kerry in February at the Munich Security Conference said in connection with the outcome of U.S.-brokered Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations, “There are talks of boycotts [of Israel] and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that?” President Barack Obama, asked by Bloomberg View columnist Jeffrey Goldberg if he agreed with Kerry’s assessment on boycotts and if the current talks present the “last chance” for peace, said in comments published Sunday that Kerry “has been simply stating what observers inside of Israel and outside of Israel recognize, which is that with each successive year, the window is closing for a peace deal that both the Israelis can accept and the Palestinians can accept.”

Obama also said, “If you see no peace deal and continued aggressive settlement construction—and we have seen more aggressive settlement construction over the last couple years than we’ve seen in a very long time... If Palestinians come to believe that the possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state is no longer within reach, then our ability to manage the international fallout [for Israel] is going to be limited.”

more...

http://www.jns.org/news-briefs/2014/3/3/sen-chuck-schumer-those-who-warn-israel-on-boycotts-have-it-all-wrong#.UxUVZ842IWc

[Scootaloo]

1. Kind of ironic, given has advocacy of "economic strangulation" for Palestine

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2010/06/11/102026/schumer-strangle-gaza-economically/

[cali]

2. kind of disgusting. I remember that. I really don't like chuckie.

[Scootaloo]

3. "Kind of" an understatement, IMO

He's a pretty nasty character on subjects such as this.

[cali]

6. I was echoing your "kind of ironic". rhetorical flourish and all that

I can't stand him- and not just on this issue.

[Chathamization]

7. To be fair, Schumer seems to be in favor of economically strangling most Americans too N/T

[magical thyme]

4. Yup. Shouldn't warn. Should just do it. Boycott now. nt

[joeybee12]

5. ...Schumer said as he was handed a check upon leaving...nt