It was supposed to be a major moment for New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and the Jewish community.
The Senate minority leader, who’s also the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history, was set to appear at the Upper East Side’s Temple Emanu-El Tuesday evening to launch his new book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning.”
But the event has been canceled as, instead of fanfare, Schumer and his book have ignited the ire of many of New York’s Jews — from both the right and the left.
On the liberal end of the political spectrum, Jews are among the voices criticizing the senator for voting with Republicans last week on a stopgap spending bill — which House Democrats have characterized as a “blank check” for Trump — that includes some $7 million in federal agency cuts to avert a government shutdown. They see him as inadequately standing up against the Trump administration.
On the right, some Jewish critics say it’s hypocritical that the senator is promoting his book on antisemitism while the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, and would enshrine antisemitism as a type of discrimination that could trigger corrective action under Title VI, is stalled in the Senate.
Ahead of a week of planned promotional events for “Antisemitism in America,” disgruntled Jews from both camps made plans for their voices to be heard. A protest organized by a local chapter of anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace was planned outside Schumer’s Monday evening event at Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library. Meanwhile, a protest organized by a group of pro-Israel Jews, colorfully promoted as “F—ck Chuck and His Book!,” was planned for Tuesday evening in Manhattan.
But on Monday — following protests from frustrated Democrats outside his Park Slope, Brooklyn home and outside his Midtown office, where one protester held a sign that said “This Jewish mom is very disappointed, Chuck” — Schumer postponed all promotional events for his book due to “security concerns,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Schumer had been scheduled to hold book events in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., later this week.
Schumer’s Emanu-El talk was going to bring him in conversation with Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Bronx Democrat who is a staunch supporter of Israel. Outside, “a broad coalition of Jewish New Yorkers,” planned to gather to demand that Schumer facilitate the passing of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, according to co-organizer Aliza Licht, a branding expert and pro-Israel activist.
Temple Emanu-El did not respond to a request for comment about the event’s cancelation — though registrants were issued refunds for their tickets and were told that it might be rescheduled.
David Klion, a Jewish, Brooklyn-based writer for, as he says, “many lefty mags,” was planning to attend the Emanu-El event on Tuesday ahead of writing a review of the book for a culture magazine. He declined to comment on the content of the book itself but did have thoughts about Schumer’s decision to back the Republican spending bill.
“It might actually be the least bad scenario in that we didn’t get a shutdown, and the focus stays on Trump,” Klion said. “But, also, everyone hates Chuck Schumer now.”
Schumer was one of 10 Democrats who voted in favor of the continuing resolution, which staves off a government shutdown for at least six months. In the aftermath, Schumer has received a “torrent of criticism” from his party.
Phylisa Wisdom, executive director of the New York Jewish Agenda, a progressive Jewish advocacy organization, declined to speak about the continuing resolution. But she said that, for the most part, she agreed with another controversial stance Schumer has taken recently, about the Trump administration’s effort to deport the Palestinian Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil.
Referring to Schumer’s statement on March 11, in which he condemned the content of Khalil’s activism but also asked for the Department of Homeland Security to provide evidence as to any criminal violation, Wisdom would have liked Schumer to use “stronger language,” she said.
“This administration are not people that we can trust to keep us safe and to be taking actions in our best interests,” Wisdom said. “So I’m grateful that SEn. Schumer drew a line between his concern around antisemitism that shows up at Columbia and protest spaces, and this extremely dangerous precedent that the Trump administration is aiming to set.”
The New York Post, meanwhile, reported that Licht and the organizers of Tuesday’s demonstration “say they also are angry with his response to the Trump administration’s efforts to deport anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil.” They support the deportation effort: As co-organizer Lizzy Savetsky, a pro-Israel influencer who recently drew condemnation for praising Meir Kahane, recently posted on Instagram: “If you’re more outraged about deporting a terror supporter than the terror they support, you’re not an ally to the Jewish community. You just hate Trump more than you care about Jewish students.”
Licht indicated that while Tuesday’s protest was canceled because Schumer’s event at Emanu-El was canceled, her group’s aims remain the same. “Our focus has always been working to get the Antisemitism Awareness Act passed and that is what we will continue to do,” she said.
“I personally was looking forward to it..,” Licht posted on X about the protest, adding, “We will find a new date.”
Schumer’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Schumer described his book as a “warning” in a statement in August.
“If America fails to understand the context and history of antisemitism, if America’s darker impulses ultimately overwhelm its better angels, an age-old truth will prove true once again: that antisemitism inevitably leads to violence against Jews and a rise in bigotry in our society at large,” he said.
Ben Akselrod, an organizational consultant who also serves as a district leader for Part A of New York’s 76th Assembly District on the Upper East Side, says his constituents are frustrated that the Democrats in the House and Senate are not on the same page.
“And the reelection of Donald Trump does not help that,” Akselrod said. “And he’s referring to Chuck Schumer using ‘Palestinian’ as a slur.”
“Antisemitism flourishes in a low-trust society,” he added. “We need our elected officials to be engaging with people on the ground, having that sort of back and forth, because democracy is a two-way street.”
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