Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently delivered a plea for Israel to forge a ceasefire in Gaza. The U.S. Senator from New York heavily blamed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for the continued loss of life, calling him a "major obstacle to peace." 

“It is unprecedented in part because of who Senator Schumer is. He’s not only the Senate Majority leader, he’s a Democrat, but he’s also the highest-ranking Jewish official, the first Jewish Senate Majority leader. So there’s a number of aspects here that are really important to and that add weight to what he’s saying. And he has been a staunch supporter of Israel, and he has been very vocal in his support of Israel since October 7 and before,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history and chair of the International Relations Undergraduate Program.

“But this also fits into a broader pattern here of tensions between the Biden administration, congressional Democrats and Netanyahu’s government. We’ve seen that playing out over the past few weeks,” Khalil says.

Watch the full interview via the WABC-TV website (begins at 3:52).