evidence: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s warning that Israel risked becoming a "pariah" and his call for new elections marked a momentous moment in modern US-Israel relations. [...] He was almost immediately accused of deserting a US ally in a time of war and of trying to interfere in Israeli politics. Netanyahu’s Likud party, for instance, said pointedly in a statement that Schumer is "expected to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it." It added: "Israel is not a banana republic, but an independent and proud democracy that elected Prime Minister Netanyahu." [...] There’s little doubt that Schumer’s move was precipitated by extreme political pressure in his party – both inside and outside the Senate. Progressives are outraged at the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza during the Israeli assault on Hamas. Arab Americans and left-wing Democrats mounted a protest that saw over 100,000 voters reject Biden in the recent Democratic primary in the critical swing state of Michigan. Biden’s allies insist those voters will come home to the president in the fall, but if they vote for someone else – or don’t vote at all – Biden’s hopes of a second term could be in serious jeopardy.