Summary

Charles Schumer, who is Jewish, was born in 1950 and is currently serving as the senior United States Senator from New York and as Senate Majority Leader. Senator Schumer’s seat will be up for election in 2028.

Schumer was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. He was reelected in 2010 and 2016 and has been the leader of the Democrats in the Senate since 2017. Before being elected to the Senate, Schumer served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 until 1999. He was also a member of the New York State Assembly from 1975 until 1980. Senator Schumer was Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2005 until 2009, and Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee from 2011 until 2017.

As Democratic Leader, Senator Schumer does not serve on any committees in the Senate. Most recently, he served as Ranking Member of the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Below is Senator Schumer’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community. 

Senator Schumer opposed the Iran nuclear deal. He opposed UN Security Council Resolution 2334 that claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity and supported the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

Senator Schumer supported the Taylor Force Act, which states that no American governmental funds shall be given to a Palestinian entity that financially rewards terrorists or their families.  

In 2018, Senator Schumer cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding.

Senator Schumer opposes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts of Israel. In June 2019, Senator Schumer expressed his support for a resolution that opposes the delegitimization of Israel and the global BDS movement.

In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.