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Jewish activists are organizing a protest against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on the day his book warning about antisemitism is released. They accuse him of failing to take meaningful action to combat antisemitism.
Schumer, a 74-year-old Jewish Democratic senator from New York, is set to release his book, Antisemitism in America: A Warning, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, critics plan to gather outside an Upper East Side synagogue to protest what they describe as his inaction on the proposed Antisemitism Awareness Act.
“The only thing Chuck Schumer knows about Antisemitism is how to spread it,” Jewish activist Aliza Licht said in a statement. “The Jewish community will not allow Schumer to masquerade as the self-proclaimed ‘shomer of the Jews’ when he has fueled Antisemitism in America with his double-speak and failure to protect Jewish Civil Rights.”
Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S., last year promised Jewish leaders he would work to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act, aimed at curbing antisemitism on college campuses. However, the effort stalled due to disagreements with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) over how to advance the bill. Schumer wanted it attached to broader legislation, such as the National Defense Authorization Act, while Johnson pushed for a standalone vote, according to Axios.
The proposed act would require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism when investigating civil rights violations. This definition includes examples such as “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” and “applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”
The bill has faced opposition from some Democrats, including Manhattan Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who raised concerns about its potential impact on free speech. The act has since been reintroduced in the Senate by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).
Protesters are also critical of Schumer’s response to the Trump administration’s efforts to deport anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, whose deportation has been temporarily halted by the courts. Khalil, a student visa holder, was a prominent figure in the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University last year.
Schumer condemned Khalil’s actions but called on the Trump administration to provide clear evidence to justify his detention or deportation.
“I abhor many of the opinions and policies that Mahmoud Khalil holds and supports, and have made my criticism of the antisemitic actions at Columbia loudly known,” Schumer said on X. “But if the administration cannot prove he has violated any criminal law to justify taking this severe action and is doing it for the opinions he has expressed, then that is wrong, they are violating the First Amendment protections we all enjoy.”
Schumer’s book aims to address the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. and issue a warning about its consequences.
“Obviously, with the great increase of antisemitism since October 7, it’s not past,” Schumer told NPR. “And we have to make sure we have to be vigilant and push against it, fight against it all the way.”
