New York Senator Chuck Schumer has criticized efforts to delegitimize and boycott Israel, slamming the BDS movement as "a modern form of anti-Semitism."
"Those who call for boycotts of Israel… are practicing whether they know it or not - a modern form of anti-Semitism, Schumer told the Israeli American Council’s 2016 National Israeli American Conference.
The Democratic senator said the BDS movement ultimatelydidn't "believe there should be a Jewish state in the Middle East and are guilty of the same anti-Semitism. We need to make that argument loudly and strongly and go against the BDS movement and call it for what it is, an anti-Semitic and not just anti-Israel movement.
“I applaud the governors of New York and California" for passing anti-BDS legislation, Schumer added.
While anti-Semitism is enjoying a renaissance on American college campuses, Schumer said, the problem was worse in Europe. “Unfortunately, anti-Semitism seems to be in far too many European homes." Schumer noted that the hatred of Israel and correlating anti-Semitism is on the rise on both the fringe right and far-left in Europe, citing the UK Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn as an example.
“Europe has shown how anti-Israel and anti-Semitic the BDS movement really is. Far-right parties are experiencing a rebirth, and far-left parties... like the Labour party under Corbyn are increasingly anti-Israel.
"Terrorism and violence against Jews is on the rise, from vandalizing synagogues to the horrible attack on a Jewish grocery in Paris. It is no wonder that last year in France, home to the largest Jewish population in Europe, set a record for the migration of Jews to Israel."
