Where’s the self-proclaimed “Guardian of Israel?”

Chuck Schumer. DonkeyHotey, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When the “Guardian of Israel” Goes Missing – Chuck Schumer is MIA

New York’s Senator Chuck Schumer has spent years calling himself “the shomer of Yisrael”—the “guardian of Israel.” It’s a title he’s repeated often, especially when he wanted to reassure Jewish voters and pro-Israel supporters that he stood firmly with the Jewish state.

But when it comes to Zohran Mamdani—New York’s radical assemblyman who parrots Hamas talking points and demonizes Israel at every turn and stands a good chance of being elected mayor of New York City—Schumer has gone silent. And silence, in moments like this, is not neutrality. It’s cowardice.

Mamdani has referred to Israel’s war of survival—Swords of Iron—as a “war of occupation.” He refuses to call Hamas what it is: a terrorist organization that massacred, raped, kidnapped and burned civilians on Oct. 7. When pressed on his views, Mamdani doesn’t answer the question. He pivots. He blames Israel. He frames terror as “resistance.” He wraps Hamas’s barbarity in the language of human rights.

He’s not just another loudmouth on X. He’s an elected official in Schumer’s own state, representing a growing faction of the Democratic Party that openly sides with Israel’s enemies. And while Mamdani spews poison and rallies activists, Schumer is nowhere to be found. No statement. No pushback. Not even a polite rebuke. That’s not guardianship. That’s political calculation—plain and simple, and Schumer is an expert at it.

Schumer knows Mamdani represents the progressive activist base Democrats are afraid of crossing. He also knows that standing up to them takes courage. And that’s exactly what he’s avoiding. But leadership isn’t about convenience. It’s about standing up when it matters most.

This isn’t just about Mamdani. It’s about the normalization of anti-Israel rhetoric inside the Democratic Party, including in New York—the state with the largest Jewish population outside Israel. When the party’s most powerful Jewish elected official refuses to confront it, the message to the haters is clear: you have nothing to fear. It’s also a message to the Jewish community: don’t count on Chuck Schumer when things get uncomfortable.

Schumer cannot claim the mantle of “shomer of Yisrael” while pretending Mamdani doesn’t exist. Guardians don’t hide when enemies approach the gate to destroy you. They stand up, speak out, and lead. Right now, Chuck Schumer is failing that test. The question is whether he will find his voice—or continue to prove that his self-appointed title was always just a slogan.

About the Author
Stephen M. Flatow is president of the Religious Zionists of America- Mizrachi (not affiliated with any Israeli or American political party) and the father of Alisa Flatow who was murdered by Iranian sponsored Palestinian terrorists in April 1995. He is the author of "A Father's Story: My Fight For Justice Against Iranian Terror" now available on Amazon in an expanded paperback edition, and the proud grandparent of 16 and great-grandparent of Avigayil Ora, the Duchess, and Esther Pesya, the Countess. This blog will be sometimes serious, sometimes light, but I hope always interesting.
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