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Schumer's Speech Calling Out Pro-Hamas Protests at Columbia 'Doesn't Go Far Enough' Warns Lawler

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  April 30, 2024 8:20 PM

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been slow and lacking with his responses to properly call out the pro-Hamas protests going on at Columbia University, as we covered last week. On Tuesday, he finally went to the Senate floor to condemn the protests and the rampant antisemitism, as well as the threats against Jewish students that go with them. 

It's also noteworthy that Schumer's floor speech came after he was repeatedly called upon to say something by a fellow New Yorker, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, of New York's 17th Congressional District. 

Hours before the speech on Tuesday morning, Jewish Insider's Josh Kraushaar pointed out how Schumer had "been unusually muted" on the issue. 

Schumer's Tuesday floor remarks were less than five minutes long, a stark contrast to when he spent nearly 45 minutes last month calling for new elections in Israel so as to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as his speech from late last November that was well-received from both sides of the aisle when he called out antisemitism from the far-left. 

"Smashing windows with hammers and taking over university buildings is not free speech – it is lawlessness, and those who did it should promptly face the consequences that are not merely a slap on the wrist," Schumer said about protests that have been going on for some time. 

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"Free speech, discussion, and even strong disagreement are fundamental American values, and campuses should be places where those values are cherished," he continued, using a narrative about free speech that many of his fellow Democrats have stuck to, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. "Campuses cannot be places of learning and argument and discussion when protests veer into criminality, and those who commit such acts are doing nothing to convince others that their cause is just."

"It is also unacceptable when Jewish students are targeted for being Jewish – when protests exhibit verbal abuse, systemic intimidation, or glorification of the murderous and hateful Hamas or the violence of October 7th," he continued. 

Schumer also referenced that speech from late last year to close this most recent one. "As I said in my speech here on the floor last November and many times since: that is antisemitism. It is loathsome. It is unacceptable."

Schumer's X account also issued a post hours after his remarks. Although the majority leader has been particularly busy over X on Tuesday, it appears that of the many posts and reposts only one post so far addresses the protests at Columbia. 

Rather, Schumer appears to be more preoccupied with issues such as the reclassification of marijuana and his role in the CHIPS & Science Act.

"Well, would you look at that," Lawler pointed out in a post of his that shared a clip fo Schumer's remarks. 

The congressman spoke to Townhall about his reaction to Schumer's speech, noting "while fine, doesn't go far enough." This is not just with substance, but how long it took for him to speak from the Senate floor, as Lawler highlighted how "it took a building to be commandeered for him to realize that problem."

Lawler also emphasized that Schumer ought to be "much more forceful." The protests, Lawler reminded, are not merely going on at Columbia University, "but across America."

Schumer has the chance to go beyond simply giving brief remarks from the Senate floor, though. Lawler told Townhall that the House will be voting on his bill on Wednesday, the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023, and that Schumer "should immediately take it up and put it on the floor for a vote."

This especially has to do with Schumer's high-ranking status. "I don't know why, as the highest ranking Jewish official in America, he would not want to be leading on this, and not make sure that Jewish Americans and Jewish students are safe," Lawler said, which he added was "unconscionable to me," especially as "this is a very clear issue in terms of right and wrong."

Lawler and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who serves as one of the bill's Democratic sponsors, both appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to promote the bipartisan legislation. 

As POLITICO described it, the bill "would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal anti-discrimination law that bars discrimination based on shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics or national origin." 

The bill passed the House Rules Committee on Monday, with even Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who has often voted against such bills, voting to send the bill forward. 

Besides Moskowitz, another Democrat who has been vocal in his support for Israel and the condemnation of antisemitism has been Lawler's fellow New Yorker, Rep. Ritchie Torres. Lawler and Torres both recently introduced the Columbia Act, which as Lawler described it during a Tuesday radio interview, the Department of Education would install a third-party monitor to ensure anti-discrimination laws are being enforced. 

Speaking about the bill and the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 that is up for a vote on Wednesday, Lawler said the "ultimately the objective" is for such bills "to change the behavior of what is happening on these campuses and force these administrators to take action." He noted that the bills are "so critical" because of Columbia University's "failure of leadership" and with Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik having "lost complete control of the situation," thus making it necessary to send the NYPD and National Guard in. 

Lawler was also one of the many Republican members to join Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) earlier this month to speak at Columbia University and condemn the antisemitism there. That Columbia visit earned the ire of Hochul, and has also sent Democrats into disarray on the issue of addressing antisemitism. 

Also speaking to Fox News' "FOX & Friends" on Tuesday morning, Lawler called out House Judiciary Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who is Jewish and who went to Columbia University as "pathetic" for his opposition, pointing out how Nadler himself signed onto such a bill in previous sessions of Congress. 

"The fact that [Nadler] has... done a 180 here is insane. And why? Because Democrats are petrified of their progressive left base and so concerned about the electoral consequences in November that they're willing to throw Jewish students under the bus," which Lawler called "shameful."