U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s support for Israel was the focus of a Politico article published on Wednesday that said the Pennsylvania Democrat “has not simply bucked his progressive brethren, he has made it a point to show he rejects the activist left’s position.”
The article opens by recalling the moment earlier this month when Fetterman was captured on camera waving a small Israeli flag while a group of pro-Palestinian protesters were being arrested at the Capitol this month when the protestors accused him of having blood on his hands.
Jackass @JohnFetterman saw veterans getting arrested and laughed.
We asked to see @SenGillibrand. We were put in cuffs.
We need leaders who listen to veterans demanding a #CeaseFireNow pic.twitter.com/M7tHJ9RUS5
— About Face: Veterans Against the War (@VetsAboutFace) November 10, 2023
“Fetterman is known for draping himself in the pro-LGBTQ+ rainbow flag at Pride festivals, endorsing Bernie Sanders for president, and sticking it to the establishment,” Politico observed, before adding:
While other pro-Israel Democrats have modified their stances amid weeks of gruesome fighting in Gaza, Fetterman has literally wrapped himself in an Israeli flag and hung up photos of the nation’s hostages outside his office. On X, formerly known as Twitter, he’s called “Free Palestine” graffiti that was sprayed outside a high school in a largely Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh “reprehensible.” He’s told a pro-Palestinian activist to her face that she should “be protesting Hamas.”
“There’s a lot of things about John, honestly, that never fit into the traditional progressive image,” Adam Jentleson, Fetterman’s chief of staff, told Politico.
The article proceeds to showcase some of the criticism Fetterman is encountering, further stating that former aides called his stance on Israel a “gutting betrayal.”
Noting the “backlash has been swift, Politico said progressives “who long viewed Fetterman as one of their own have had to reconcile their adoration for the senator with his irreverence toward their position on the war.”
The outlet also pointed to Fetterman’s “trollish style” as a source of frustration while detailing some of the criticism:
Matt Howard, board member of an anti-war veterans group on the flag-waving incident: “I honestly felt frustrated. If he disagreed with them, that’s one thing. It didn’t totally make sense to me that he would resort to mocking folks.”
Brittany DeBarros, another member of the anti-war group: “Fetterman smirked and waved sarcastically at her during the arrests.”
Jules Berkman-Hill, a volunteer with the progressive Jewish group IfNotNow: “He took a good amount of money from DMFI (Democratic Majority for Israel)…. Those are all organizations that are opposing a political solution right now, and I think that speaks volumes.”
Beth Miller, political director of the far-left group Jewish Voice for Peace Action: “I am still a bit shocked by the level of disdain that he has been giving to a growing anti-war movement.”
Fetterman lives 15 minutes away from Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, where a gunman killed 11 people in 2018, and Politico reported that the attack “left him distraught… and changed him politically.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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