Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he felt an obligation to hear Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak to Congress last week — but not to shake his hand.

"I have serious disagreements with the way Benjamin Netanyahu has conducted his policies (in the war on Gaza)," Schumer said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

“I went to this speech because the relationship between Israel and America is strong and I wanted to show that,” Schumer (D-N.Y.), the most senior Jewish politician in the United States, said when asked why he did not shake Netanyahu’s hand in an interview with Robert Costa on the popular weekly “Face the Nation.” “But at the same time, as everyone knows, I have serious disagreements with the way Benjamin Netanyahu has conducted these policies.”

Chuck Schumer considered that Israel has the right to defend itself against the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday was warmly received by many in attendance, but met with backlash — dozens of Democrats (106 House members and 23 Senate senators) skipped the speech over concerns about Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. Even among those in attendance, some Democrats issued statements condemning Netanyahu’s remarks.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who did not attend the speech, called Netanyahu’s speech “the worst performance by any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the United States Congress” in a post on X. Asked about Pelosi’s words, and whether he regretted inviting Netanyahu to address Congress, Schumer said the relationship between Israel and the United States should not depend on any one leader.

“As I said, I wanted to show our strong commitment to Israel that goes beyond any single prime minister or any single president,” Schumer said. “No matter how much you disagree with that prime minister.”

Experts say that Benjamin Netanyahu certainly left the United States on Saturday evening “feeling good about himself,” since during his visit — Netanyahu’s first trip abroad since October 7, 2023 — he achieved almost all of his goals: He visited the White House, to which he had not been invited since the beginning of his current term in December 2022; his speech to Congress received repeated applause, despite harsh criticism of the conduct of the war in Gaza; and he renewed his relationship with the Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump.

Given Netanyahu’s speech to Congress (which was actually directed at Israelis), one might have thought this was a popular prime minister, not a leader whom Israelis describe as having “betrayed his duty to ensure the safety and security of his country’s citizens,” according to Haaretz. A poll conducted by the Israeli Ulpan Shishi Institute last week found that only about 30 percent of respondents said Netanyahu was fit to lead, while 54 percent said he should have stayed in Israel rather than travel abroad.

While he boasted in his speech to Congress of “the dimensions of the catastrophe of October 7, and spoke of the heroes of the Gaza war who attended the speech,” he promised no flexibility in negotiations for the release of the hostages, spoke only briefly about the displaced population in northern Israel and the rebuilding of communities bordering Gaza, and offered no comprehensive plan for ending the war.

He also offered a vague vision for the future of the Gaza Strip, criticized the Biden administration’s call for increased humanitarian aid to the Strip, launched a scathing attack on the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and questioned the motives of some pro-Palestinian protesters in the United States. He also rejected allegations of deliberate starvation and insisted that Israel had “allowed” sufficient quantities of food to enter the Strip.

It is no secret that Netanyahu arrived in Washington during a week of political drama that has been far-reaching. Biden’s announcement that he will not seek reelection and his address to the nation explaining his decision have dampened public interest in Netanyahu’s visit. Biden remains in office until his successor is inaugurated on January 20, 2025, giving Netanyahu six months to work with him on all issues related to the war, including the controversial arms transfer.

Although it has been said that the two (Biden and Netanyahu) discussed a number of key issues during their meeting, including the ongoing war on Gaza, the situation on Israel’s northern border, relations with Saudi Arabia (in the context of a possible two-part deal: a Saudi-American one, including a strategic security agreement, and another, including Saudi-Israeli normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital), and joint cooperation against Iran, the content of the meeting has not yet been leaked, and it is not clear whether any progress has been made in the dialogue between the two parties.

According to all analysts and observers, the most problematic meeting of all for Netanyahu was with Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris did not attend Netanyahu’s speech to Congress due to “prior commitments.” In their meeting a day later, “she was polite but cold,” according to Haaretz. Harris surprised Israelis when, immediately after the meeting, she issued a statement to the media calling for an end to the war and a significant improvement in the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Harris, according to the newspaper, was not convinced by Netanyahu’s explanations and statements, and took a firm line that contradicted Biden’s approach. Israeli officials claimed that Harris was working to bolster the party’s progressive wing and its popularity among pro-Palestinian voters as she began her election campaign.

Some believe that the public confrontation between the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and Netanyahu played into the hands of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who was quick to attack his rival and her position on Israel.

For Netanyahu, his meeting with Trump on Friday at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort was one of the highlights of his US visit. The relationship between the two had soured four years ago when Netanyahu “rushed to congratulate” Biden on his election win, according to Trump. Trump also cited the January 2020 assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani as a point of crisis between him and Netanyahu, with Trump claiming that Netanyahu “pulled back right before the attack. It was going to be a joint mission and all of a sudden, we were told that Israel wasn’t going to do it… That was something I’ve never forgotten.”

Netanyahu and Israel are undoubtedly a domestic flashpoint in the November 5 U.S. election. In fact, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) extended the invitation to Netanyahu on May 23, two days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in order to embarrass Biden and his campaign and to rally the American evangelical right under the Republican banner.