Sen. Schumer Calls Jerusalem Fight a 'Mistake,' Says Obama Will Talk About Israel

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Democratic National Convention floor fight over reinserting platform language about God and Jerusalem was a "mistake" and that President Barack Obama will talk about Israel in his convention speech Thursday night.

"He will say something about Israel," Schumer told reporters in Charlotte, N.C. Thursday, BuzzFeed reported. "I know he will. I've been told he will."

A voice vote on whether to adopt to amendments declaring Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish state and to add a reference to God was taken three times Wednesday after the yeas and nays sounded equally loud. Delegates booed loudly after convention chair Antonio Villaraigosa declared the changes had passed despite clear opposition.

"I think it was a mistake," Schumer said of the language omissions, which were included in the 2008 platform. "I was involved. I think it was a mistake; when they realized it and brought it to the president."

Earlier Thursday, Schumer told CNN he brought the missing language to the White House's attention, saying of the Jerusalem issue: "It has always been the position of the Democratic Party, of the Democrats overwhelmingly that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Why it wasn't in the platform, who knows, but when I brought it to the White House's attention and others, the president himself intervened and said put it in."

According to BuzzFeed, Schumer said that on Wednesday, "No one knew what they were voting on or what it was all about."

"I have been an advocate of this position for 25 years. I have never gotten flack from any Democrat, left or right or center," he said.