Jewish senator Chuck Schumer says God has appointed him as the guardian of Israel.

2010 AIPAC Annual Policy Conference: Jewish senator Chuck Schumer says it's no coincidence his surname matches his religious ordainment as Shomer Yisrael (The Guardian of Israel). Schumer explains his surname comes from the Hebrew word shomer, meaning guardian or watchman. His ancestors were the guardians of wall of Chortkiv, a Jewish ghetto in Galicia, Ukraine. When they came to Ellis Island they said their name in Yiddish as Shoymer which was written down as Schumer. In Jewish religious law (halacha), a shomer/shomrim is a Jewish legal guardian entrusted with the custody and care of another's object. Schumer says his guardianship of Israel is his life's mission.