Schumer praised by conservative faith leader for 'profile in courage' condemning left-wing antisemitism
A top Christian leader offered rare conservative praise for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after the New York Democrat took to the Senate floor and condemned antisemitic behavior, including from within his own party.
In his remarks, Schumer noted how many on the left marched with Black Lives Matter and against "anti-Asian hatred" as well as abortion rights, which he called "reproductive justice," saying the same principle of fighting against bigotry should extend to the Jewish people.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., later said he agreed with the top-ranking Jewish U.S. official's sentiment as faith leaders of all stripes co-signed a letter to Congress calling for unity against antisemitism.
The lead signatory, Faith & Freedom Coalition Chairman Ralph Reed, told FOX News Wednesday that Schumer's speech was notable given how the Democratic Party has an increasingly splintering ideological faction that has condemned Israel and shown support for Palestinians after Hamas committed terrorism against Israelis on Oct. 7.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Anna Moneymaker)
"I was very pleased. I was moved by it. I think it was a profile in courage given sadly where the progressive left of the Democratic Party is today," Reed said on "The Story."
"And that's why we felt like we had to make the statement that we made on Monday when we released our letter."
The letter constituted a unified message from leaders from all walks of faith, including Revs. Robert Jeffress, Jonathan Falwell, Jentezen Franklin, John Hagee, Rabbi Tuly Weisz, CBN CEO Gordon Robertson and ACLJ Action President Jordan Sekulow.
Reed said the letter calls for an immediate congressional aid package for Israel, as well as a substantive response to Iran's support for Hamas and its overall aggression toward the United States, Israel and their allies.
One point of the letter calls for the passage of Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks' Maximum Pressure Act targeting Iran, which the signatories noted in-part requires any new deal with the terror sponsor to be ratified by the Senate.
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"We want the Maximum Pressure Act passed so that we reimpose crippling sanctions on their oil and energy programs because they use those tens of billions of dollars in profits to fund terrorism throughout the region and throughout the world," Reed said on "The Story."
Another point in the letter demanded passage of the Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors Act. That bill, authored by Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., prior to the Hamas invasion, would prevent the feds from contracting with entities who support the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement.
In a statement from July, Tenney noted the BDS movement "ignore[s] the human rights violations by countries like China, North Korea and Iran" and instead wrongly targets Israel.
The faith leaders also urged the passage of co-sponsor Sen. Tim Scott's Anti-Semitism Awareness Act.
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"And finally, we believe religious bigotry against any group is a threat to all people of faith and all of our common humanity, and we just did not feel that we could remain silent."
Reed warned that decades of "never again and never forget" sentiments in America in regard to the Holocaust appear to have ended in "ripp[ing] the scab off of a simmering and dark and dangerous antisemitism."
"We've got to do something to fight it," he concluded.
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