Sen. Chuck Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel marks a startling turn in the spiraling tensions between Washington and Jerusalem.

In a speech delivered Thursday on the Senate floor, Schumer declared that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremism, especially in his refusal to tone down the bombing of Gaza in the war with Hamas, is turning the Jewish state into a “pariah” nation. The speech set off political earthquakes in both capitals—the Israeli newspaper Haaretz called it a “watershed moment” in relations between the two countries—noting that Schumer is not only the Senate majority leader but also a longtime stalwart supporter of Israel and “the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history.”

Schumer’s call was not quite as firm as some headlines suggest. He did not advocate an immediate cease-fire in Israel’s war with Hamas. Rather, he said a new election—to “give Israelis an opportunity to express their vision for the postwar future”—should be held “once the war starts to wind down.” He put forth no plan or timetable on when the winding down should take place.

In another little-noted passage, he also called for the ouster of Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority, saying that “for there to be any hope of peace in the future, Abbas must step down and be replaced by a new generation of Palestinian leaders who will work towards attaining peace with a Jewish state.”

Still, Schumer’s critique was as stark and stern as any delivered by an American political leader. Netanyahu, he lamented, “has lost his way, putting himself in coalition with far-right extremists” that “no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7.” The world has changed........

© Slate