“This speech is not an attempt to label most criticism of Israel and the Israeli government generally as antisemitic. I don’t believe that criticism is,” [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer said. “And this speech is also not an attempt to pit hate towards one group against that of another.”

“I want to describe the fears and anxieties of many Jewish Americans right now, particularly after Oct. 7, who feel there are aspects of the debate around Israel and Gaza that are crossing over into antisemitism, rank antisemitism, with Jewish people simply being targeted for being Jewish,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and the only Palestinian American member of the House, was censured by the House earlier this month for remarks she has made about Israel; Tlaib has defended use of the phrase “from the river to the sea” as “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence.”