Chuck Schumer postpones all antisemitism book tour events this week amid planned protests
In ‘Antisemitism in America: A Warning,’ Schumer addresses antisemitism on the left and pro-Palestinian protests
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Feb. 19, 2025. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh March 17, 2025
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has postponed all his scheduled public appearances promoting his new book on antisemitism this week amid planned protests and growing calls for him to step down from his leadership role after backing the Republican spending bill to avoid a shutdown.
In Antisemitism in America: A Warning, set to be published Tuesday, Schumer addresses, among other topics, antisemitism on the left and calls out pro-Palestinian protesters who, he writes, have crossed the line from legitimate criticism of Israel into dangerous antisemitic rhetoric.
Organizers of a Monday book event at the Central Library in Baltimore and a scheduled conversation with Rep. Ritchie Torres at Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center in New York on Tuesday cited security concerns as a reason for the cancellations. Another scheduled event — a conversation with Amy Spitalnick, chief executive of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, hosted by DC’s Politics and Prose bookstore at Sixth & I synagogue in Washington — has also been postponed. So is a fourth book launch event moderated by Israeli chef and Philadelphia restaurateur Michael Solomonov, who faced protests since Oct. 7, at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History Museum in Philadelphia. Schumer’s office confirmed it was due to security considerations.
Far-left protesters affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace mobilized to protest Schumer outside Monday’s event. Far-right Jewish activists also planned to protest the Democratic leader outside the Manhattan event for failing to pass a contentious antisemitism bill targeting anti-Israel activity on campuses.
Schumer, who became the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history in 2017, explores in his book how antisemitism has evolved in American society, becoming a bipartisan problem, though with distinct characteristics on the left and right. He also recounts his journey from a Brooklyn childhood to becoming one of Washington’s most influential leaders.
Progressives are intensifying calls for Schumer to resign from his leadership role in the Senate after he backed the Republican-led spending bill to avoid a government shutdown on Friday. The move drew fierce criticism, including from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some House Democrats are also encouraging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Ortez to primary Schumer in 2028.
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