Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) slammed the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement during his remarks before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference on Monday night, calling it unquestionable anti-Semitism.
Better known as BDS, the movement seeks to delegitimize and economically isolate the Jewish state. The Anti-Defamation League has called the campaign "rampant with misinformation and distortion."
"We must continue to stand firm against the profoundly biased campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel through [BDS]," Schumer said. "While Iran publicly executes its citizens, Turkey jails its journalists, scores of Arab nations punish homosexuality with imprisonment and torture, why does BDS single Israel out alone for condemnation?"
"When there is such a double standard, when the world treats everybody one way and the Jew or the Jewish state another way, there's only one word for it: anti-Semitism! Let us call out the BDS movement for what it is," Schumer said. "Let us delegitimize the delegitimizers by letting the world know when there is a double standard. Whether they know it or not, they are actively participating in an anti-Semitic movement."
Schumer's party is not fully on board with his position, however. The California Democratic Party adopted a resolution at its convention last month in opposition to a federal anti-BDS bill. The party also did not endorse Jewish Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) in her reelection bid.
Schumer also called for passage of The Taylor Force Act, named for an American who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist in 2016. The law would cease payments from the U.S. to the Palestinian Authority until the PA ceases paying bounties to the families of terrorists.
"This is not just about funds to the Palestinian Authority. Too many believe that this Palestinian Authority is moderate and really wants peace," he said. "The Taylor Force Act will force the world to confront the dark truth that the Palestinian Authority every day actively aids and abets terrorism."
Watch Schumer's full remarks below.