Following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, which resulted in over 1,400 fatalities, prominent Democrats, such as President Joe Biden, have mainly expressed unwavering backing for the nation’s right to take revenge.
Among the most influential progressive senators in the Senate is Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.
Two days after the incident, he released a statement saying, “I unequivocally support any necessary military, intelligence, and humanitarian aid to Israel.” As they face this menace, the United States has a moral duty to support its ally in unison. Additionally, I wholeheartedly back Israel’s efforts to neutralize the terrorists behind this brutality.
Despite Fetterman’s party’s stance and his previous remarks regarding the conflict, he has probably encountered more outspoken resistance than any of his colleagues.
Additionally, it has originated from those who have supported him and, in certain situations, were his former employees.
A Democratic operative involved in Fetterman’s 2022 campaign noted, “You fight more with your family than you do with your friends.”
“You’re going to go afoul of somebody periodically when you represent a vast, diversified state with pockets of incredibly progressive, lefty individuals — and really conservative people on the other spectrum,” the source continued. “Occasionally, it will involve individuals within your base.”
With a senator whose ascent matched the expansion of the progressive movement in one of the nation’s most important presidential swing states facing a pivotal moment in his early Senate career, the episode provides a window into a rift that is emerging on the progressive left over the most recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A dispute between friends
There’s been no slowdown in the criticism.
Around 200 pro-Palestinian protesters blocked up the roadway in front of Fetterman’s Philadelphia office on Thursday, asking that he support an immediate cease-fire in the area. The Philadelphia Inquirer said that several carried a big puppet of him with a clothing that said, “Silent on Genocide.”
In addition to minor demonstrations that day at Fetterman’s other Pennsylvania locations, this was the second protest in front of that particular office in as many weeks.
A well-known labor lawyer and contributor for the Russian state-run publication Russia Today personally contacted Fetterman on Sunday during an event in Pittsburgh and pressured him about supporting a cease-fire. Fetterman was then forcibly removed from the location. (A Fetterman assistant stated that the man’s remover wasn’t on Fetterman’s staff.)
Furthermore, as The Intercept revealed last month, a group of former Fetterman campaign staffers said in a letter saying his unwavering support for Israel “has felt like a gutting betrayal.”
Organizing consultant Cecily Harwitt, who witnessed a protest at Fetterman’s Philadelphia office, claimed that Fetterman has been the target of activists “because his entire brand and persona is standing up for oppressed people.”
Many other senators have not abided by that principle throughout their entire lives. She mentioned her Jewish faith and her support for Fetterman during his campaign. “So it’s just that much more disappointing that he’s coming out, saying we can’t talk about a cease-fire [and] essentially writing a blank check to Israel to do whatever it wants,” she said. His primary constituency is progressive voters. Nothing about it makes sense.
Fetterman put pictures of the captives on the wall outside his Senate office this week after meeting with survivors of the Oct. 7 attack and relatives of the hostages held by Hamas. A conservative journalist boosted an image of the hostage posters outside his office when he tweeted an image of “Free Palestine” painted on a wall outside a high school in Pittsburgh’s main Jewish area.
“This is abhorrent,” Fetterman declared. “At this point, this is the only thing that belongs on a wall.”
pro-Israeli throughout the campaign
Insiders and supporters of Fetterman who talked with NBC News said that the backlash doesn’t reflect popular dissatisfaction with his handling of the Middle East violence outbreak. Instead, they claimed, it is the outcome of a small number of vocal individuals who have controlled the conversation on social media.
They pointed out that Fetterman’s support for Israel was made abundantly evident during the Senate primary last year and that the growing antisemitism he has seen in recent years—including the deadly antisemitic attack on a synagogue in 2018—has influenced his pro-Israel stance. It happened about fifteen minutes from his Pittsburgh-area home, and Fetterman’s chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, stated that it “deeply affected him.”
Jentleson remarked of Fetterman’s ardent support for Israel, “It does seem to have caught some people by surprise,” but Fetterman countered that “those people weren’t really paying attention when he staked out his strong support of Israel during the campaign.” At the time, he never made a big deal out of it.
These supporters also note that because of his standing as a well-known progressive, he has been singled out for more overt criticism than his Democratic colleagues. They have also mentioned the admiration he has gotten from Jewish organizations on the center-left, who have been inspired by his steadfast dedication in the face of the rising violence. Furthermore, they dispute Fetterman’s wisdom in calling for urgent and ongoing humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, given that Hamas violated the previous cease-fire in order to start its onslaught in early October.
Speaking on Hamas, Jill Zipin, co-founder of Democratic Jewish Outreach PA, stated, “We’re very grateful that he called out its barbarism while at the same time calling for swift implementation of humanitarian aid.” “From both his and our perspectives, there is nothing progressive about terrorism or terrorist groups.”
After speaking with survivors of the Oct. 7 attack and the families of the hostages last week, Jentleson said Fetterman was “deeply” touched. However, he said that he hasn’t yet heard a convincing argument for the need for an urgent cease-fire.
“Hamas just broke a cease-fire, which is why we’re here,” he declared. “And there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t break one more.”
However, Fetterman’s critics disagree, claiming he is merely engaging in political posturing rather than holding genuine opinions toward Israel.
Progressive strategist Waleed Shahid stated, “I don’t think this is a sincerely held belief by the senator or his staff.” And Fetterman isn’t even the only one, in my opinion. I believe that the majority of Democrats in Congress are afraid of the political and electoral fallout from organizations like Democratic Majority for Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee if they voice even mild criticism of the Israeli government.
To support their positions, both sides have used a Jewish Insider article from 2022. Fetterman told the news organization that he was “eager to affirm” his “unwavering” support to the U.S.-Israeli alliance during the height of the Democratic Senate primary campaign in Pennsylvania last year. Pennsylvania is home to one of the largest Jewish electorates of any state.
Regarding his stance on Israel, he continued, “I would also respectfully say that I’m not really a progressive in that sense.” Later, he said, “I want to make sure that it’s absolutely clear that the views that I hold in no way go along the lines of some of the more fringe or extreme wings of our party.”
In addition, Summer Lee, a progressive from the Pittsburgh region who is currently a member of Congress, experienced a barrage of expenditure from AIPAC during her difficult primary race. Fetterman was questioned about his views on Israel throughout the interview. (Lee is one of few House Democrats who support an early end to the Gaza conflict.)
In reference to Fetterman, Democratic activist in Pennsylvania Brett Goldman stated, “There were definitely concerns… during the primary.” “But the Jewish community has definitely had all of those worries allayed.”
He went on, “He’s come out as a pretty strong champion for Israel and the Pennsylvania Jewish community.” And I believe that a lot of people were also somewhat taken aback by that.
Democratic Majority for Israel’s president, Mark Mellman, stated to Jewish Insider at the time that Fetterman took the initiative on the matter, agreeing to a briefing with the group and revising a draft position document on Israel in response to their input.
Fetterman’s allies vehemently disagreed with the report, which critics used as proof that Fetterman had allowed an outside group to write his policy position on Israel. Jentleson described that viewpoint as untrue and “absurd and very cynical.” Mellman also denied Fetterman’s claim that his team drafted his policy points.
“I find it annoying,” he remarked. “The man is, in fact, a clever, bright individual. with autonomy. He received feedback on the problems from a range of sources.