Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) suggested Sunday that he did not shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to “serious disagreements.”
Netanyahu gave a speech to a joint session of Congress last week, and lawmakers responded with mixed reactions. Schumer and Netanyahu exchanged nods rather than handshakes before the speech.
“Well, look, I went to this speech because the relationship between Israel and America is rigid, and I wanted to show that. But at the same time, as you all know, I have serious disagreements with the way Benjamin Netanyahu has pursued these policies.” , Schumer said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” when asked why he didn’t shake his hand.
Earlier this year, Schumer called for new elections in Israel and said Netanyahu “has lost his way.”
“As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: the Netanyahu coalition no longer adapts to Israel’s needs after October 7,” Schumer said in March. “The world has changed – radically – since then, and the Israeli people are being suffocated right now by a vision of government that is stuck in the past.”
Netanyahu said at the time that Schumer’s comments were “totally inappropriate.”
Schumer ended up signing the invitation for Netanyahu to speak to Congress after an initial delay.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
