Sen. Dick Durbin’s vote in November 2024 against arms sales to Israel was an ominous sign for the Jewish state’s supporters in America. Durbin had always been reasonable on the issue and never flirted with the politics of the Squad, and he was also an institutionalist not a revolutionary—which made sense, because as the Democratic Party’s Senate whip, he was the second in command.
Yet it’s hard not to think of that vote when reading the news that, as expected, Brian Schatz has secured his place as Durbin’s successor as whip. That part is less important than what it sets up for the future: a relatively clear path for Schatz to eventually succeed Chuck Schumer as the party’s Senate leader. As Punchbowl reports today, the Hawaii Democrat “has secured commitments from a majority of Democratic senators in his bid to become their next whip, including a crucial new endorsement from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.”
Now, in fairness to Schatz, not all that much will materially change regarding anti-Semitism and Israel. The biggest difference with Schatz will be that he won’t pretend to agonize over his eventual concessions to the base. The party’s anti-Israel turn will speed up, mostly because we won’t have to sit through Schumer’s soul-bearing monologues wherein he at least gestures at his lifelong promises to his Jewish constituents before doing nothing to protect or defend them.
Schumer’s betrayal is meaningful, because he came up through the most Jewish city in the world outside of Israel and insisted he be regarded as “Schumer the shomer”—Schumer the watchman, the guardian, the sentinel of his beleaguered people. As Liel Liebowitz writes brilliantly in the May issue of COMMENTARY, Schumer has unburdened himself of the weight of communal responsibility.
Schatz never had any such pretensions, so Senate Democrats of the future will just get right to the point. No need to start off with pro-Israel platitudes, just open with the list of grievances. Schumer wanders in the desert for 40 years every time he wants to rail against Bibi Netanyahu; Schatz has Tom Friedman’s cab driver on speed dial and saves everyone the long trip.
Schumer, of course, is all in on Schatz—you barely have to change the name on the door. “Brian Schatz is not just a trusted colleague and a clear communicator—he’s a close friend and one of my most valued allies in the Senate. Over the past several months, Brian and I have worked hand-in-hand to build strong backing across the caucus, and I’m proud to endorse him for whip.”
It’s hard to know what Schumer is proudest of, regarding Schatz. Is it Schatz’s support for the Iran nuclear deal? His opposition to moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and thus recognizing the Jews’ historic capital? His vote to stop arming the Jewish state in its defensive war against the perpetrators of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and those who explicitly carry Hitler’s torch? His opposition to a bill that would let states choose not to contract with companies that boycott Israel? Or perhaps his overflowing self-righteousness, in which he forces himself to believe the worst about the Jewish state and then stomps around hectoring everybody to join him? All of it?
As for me, I think I may actually miss the disingenuous desert wanderings of Chuck Schumer. It’s a gesture toward a simpler time, when people at least pretended to feel bad about their poor decisions.
As for Schatz, the ultimate irony is that he replaced in the Senate Daniel Inouye—a true hero, a monumental figure, the embodiment of all that is great about America and its people. Inouye was awarded the Medal of Honor for his WWII service and was a lifelong defender of Israel and the Jewish people. With Schatz rising, the loss of Inouye stings anew.
