'The Interview': Chuck Schumer on Democrats, Antisemitism and His Shutdown Retreat
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What did Chuck Schumer discuss in his new book on antisemitism?
The direction of his party, how Democrats are communicating their opposition to President Trump, and also, on a more personal note, his fears about the rise of anti-Semitism in America. Schumer's written a new book on that topic. It's called Anti-Semitism in America, A Warning. It's part history, part memoir. And in it, he tracks the long record of prejudice against Jews in the world and its recent surge here at home. That was Monday. When we spoke again on Saturday afternoon, it was after an extraordinary few days in Congress where Democrats had to decide whether or not to vote for a Republican federal spending bill or allow a government shutdown. House Democrats had voted in near unanimity against the bill. Schumer initially said that he would as well, but in a shocking about-face on Friday, he joined Republicans and it passed. The aftermath has been brutal and led to open warfare in the party and questions about Schumer's future as its leader. So when I called him back, we had a lot to discuss.
Why did Chuck Schumer change his vote on the Republican spending bill?
Here are my two conversations with Senator Chuck Schumer. Senator Schumer, in your book, you write that you rarely faced anti-Semitism when you were growing up in Brooklyn. What was the moment that you felt that things changed in this country that made you want to write the book now?
So I was born in 1950. And for the first 50 years, it was sort of what you might call the golden Medina, the golden age for Jewish people, not only in America, but forever. Because we had never seen... Such acceptance. We were accepted in ways we never thought. I was so proud when I was, I guess, about 12 years old that Sandy Koufax, a Jewish pitcher, not a scientist or a teacher, didn't play ball on Yom Kippur. And that made us so proud. I experienced a little anti-Semitism. There was a moment, for instance, when I was eight years old and we were driving home from my grandma's house. And someone rolled down the window and said to my nice, decent father, you fucking Jew. I think of that almost every week, but it didn't happen very much. And the Jewish people, all the kinds of discrimination that we had seen, Jews couldn't work here, Jews couldn't do that, even the sort of innuendos went away.
And there was one reason above all, the Holocaust hung over a curtain, not only for Jewish people, but of course us, we always thought about it. I get a little emotional. People on my block, older ladies would come and roll up their sleeves. and show us the numbers on their arms that the concentration camp made them do because they were just a number, you know, probably scheduled to die. Okay. When did that change? It began changing in the beginning of the 21st century. And what I've written in the book is when things get bad or a little rough, that's when anti-Semitism sort of bubbles up and then can get worse. Conor Cruz O'Brien, the great Irish poet, said anti-Semitism is a light sleeper. So in 2001, for the first time after 9-11, we saw these conspiracy theories.
Oh, the Jews did it. All the Jews evacuated the building, etc. But okay. It was not good, but it didn't lead to a huge spread of anti-Semitism. 2008 got a little worse because of the financial crisis and the international conspiracy. And there were all kinds of theories, George Soros, 30 years earlier, they never would have dared use George Soros as the sort of way to talk about the international conspiracy, because he was Jewish and because of the Holocaust. But it was October 7th that changed it all. And all of a sudden, anti-Semitism explodes in ways we've never seen, and overt anti-Semitism. Jewish bakeries being called Zionist bakeries and rocks thrown through their windows. People who wore yarmulkes or Jewish stars being screamed at, yelled at, vilified, even punched and cursed. All the kinds of things that we had not seen in America for a very long time. And it shocked us.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What did Chuck Schumer discuss in his new book on antisemitism?
0:21–1:26
2
Why did Chuck Schumer change his vote on the Republican spending bill?
1:26–7:39
3
How does Chuck Schumer view the Democratic Party's direction?
7:39–11:52
4
What challenges do Democrats face with authenticity and messaging?
11:52–19:13
5
How does Chuck Schumer plan to address Trump's influence in politics?
19:13–23:33
6
Is there a shift in Jewish political alignment in America?
23:33–52:23