Sen. John Fetterman has recieved backlash for his unwavering support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
Politico reported that when pro-Palestinian protesters at the Capitol accused the Pennsylvania Democrat of having "blood on his hands" in the wake of Palestinian civilian deaths since the beginning of the conflict in October, he went to his office and returned to the crowd waving an Israeli flag as they were being arrested.
His "positions on Israel have always leaned toward the hawkish," Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, told the news outlet. "I am still a bit shocked by the level of disdain that he has been giving to a growing anti-war movement."
His stance supporting Israel appears to be at odds with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party that embraced Fetterman as one of their own during his Senate bid in 2022.
"I honestly felt frustrated," said Matt Howard, a board member of the group About Face: Veterans Against the War, the group of activists that Fetterman ridiculed during that incident. "If he disagreed with them, that's one thing. It didn't totally make sense to me that he would resort to mocking folks."
Jules Berkman-Hill, a volunteer with the progressive Jewish group IfNotNow, said there may be a simple political explanation for his diversion from the progressive viewpoint on Israel and the Palestinians, including the support and money he received during his campaign from the Democratic Majority of Israel, one of the more forceful pro-Israel super PACs in politics.
"He took a good amount of money from DMFI," Hill said, referring to Democratic Majority for Israel. "Those are all organizations that are opposing a political solution right now, and I think that speaks volumes."
Other Israeli supporters in Pennsylvania, however, said Fetterman's stance was laid out during the race and should not surprise anyone given that his state has the fifth-largest Jewish population in the nation, according to Politico.
The report said the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 caused Fetterman to form a close relationship with the Jewish community.
"John and I became friends because he called me the morning just minutes after the shooting started at Tree of Life," said Republican Jeff Bartos, who ran against Fetterman at the time for the lieutenant governor’s position. "He's like, 'I'm so sorry to be the one to call you, but I just got off the phone with the governor. There's a shooting happening right now at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. It's going to be bad.'"
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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