Democratic Sen. John Fetterman acknowledged Monday that “parts” of the party’s base have turned their back on Israel, an issue he described as one of “moral clarity” for him.
Fetterman (D-Pa.) argued during a bipartisan “The Senate Project” event with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) that those who lament the “tragedy in Gaza” should blame Hamas and its benefactor, Iran.
“The Jewish community must feel constantly under assault,” said Fetterman, 55. “I visited Penn, and I said hello with 300 [Jewish] students, and they were all just, it’s like they’re exhausted, and were constantly living under this kind of constant kinds of criticism, and having that there in their face.
“That’s not free speech, building tent cities on a campus and terrorizing and intimidating Jewish students, that’s not free speech,” he added. “And now we really lost, we’ve lost the argument in parts of my party, and for me, that moral clarity, it’s really firmly on Israel.”
Fetterman has been a staunch public supporter of Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack killed an estimated 1,200 people in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
The senator’s outspokenness has prompted lefty agitators to target him at political events and even his home.
“Of course, we can all agree [there’s a] tragedy in Gaza. Nobody wants that. But who does want that — and that’s Hamas,” Fetterman added. “I think we should blame Iran and Hamas.
“I refuse to allow [to] try to turn Israel into a pariah state, and now it’s right in the middle of that,” he added, noting his agreement with McCormick.
Fetterman also expanded on his calls for the Trump administration to partner with Israel to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.
“I think I’m the only member of my caucus that realizes that we have an opportunity to destroy that nuclear facility,” he said. “What’s made this possible is because … Israel pushed through all the kinds of demands for a cease-fire … and they’ve destroyed and broke Hamas largely, and then also Hezbollah too.”
President Trump’s team is currently engaged in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. A recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency found that Tehran has amassed some 300 pounds of 60% enriched uranium, not far off from the 90% enrichment grade needed to build a nuke.
Trump has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from striking Iran during talks, saying such a move would be “inappropriate.”
Back in 2018, Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Iran nuclear deal that former President Barack Obama’s team negotiated in 2015.
“I wasn’t really kind of allowed to disagree politically, with the original agreement on Iran,” Fetterman recalled. “I really do think now, Trump did the right thing to break that agreement.”
“We can’t really negotiate, I think, with Iran,” he added. “I think it’s a once-in-a-generation [opportunity] to destroy that facility, and I think that would transform the region once that’s finally destroyed.”
Fetterman faced a firestorm last month after disgruntled staffers, including former chief of staff Adam Jentleson, badmouthed him to New York Magazine in a bid to stir up concerns about his mental health.
McCormick was among Fetterman’s defenders after the article dropped, ripping the attacks as “disgraceful smears.”
“He actually asked me, ‘Is it OK to defend you? I don’t want that to create more political problems,’” Fetterman recounted. “I appreciate that. You know, he and people recognize the smear in this process.”
McCormick, who defeated long-serving Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) last year, surmised that many of the “same people that elected me elected him for the most part.”
The two Pennsylvania senators are one of only three cross-party pairs in the Senate, along with Republican Susan Collins and Democrat-aligned independent Angus King of Maine and Republican Ron Johnson and Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
