I believe that Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) deceived voters by hiding the full extent of his cognitive impairment following his stroke in May 2022. He campaigned from the shadows and had his Democrat-donor doctor declare him fit for serving in the Senate when he was clearly not. Regardless of party, the voters of Pennsylvania deserve a senator who can do the job — and Fetterman made it very clear very early he wasn’t up to the task. Even Pennsylvania Democrats should have been outraged by the deception enough to turn on him.
They are turning on him now, albeit for the wrong reason.
After the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, Fetterman expressed his support for Israel. Quite a few Democrats did at the time, including Joe Biden. Although there were plenty of Democrats who were far more sympathetic to Hamas and the Palestinians, pro-Palestinian voices in the party continued to get louder, particularly after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip with the intention of eliminating Hamas. Even Biden has started to turn on Israel and kowtow to the anti-Semitic wing of his party.
Fetterman, however, has stood firm in his support of Israel. This stance shouldn’t be considered brave or even particularly noteworthy. If Fetterman were a Republican, no one would think much of it. But his unwavering support for Israel is a welcome breath of fresh air from a party that has become infested with anti-Semites.
Sadly, it’s also the reason why so-called progressives are turning on him. Earlier this month, he was booed outside of the Capitol while he was waving an Israeli flag. Pennsylvania leftists are also speaking out against him.
In an op-ed at Penn Live, Mireille Rebeiz, the Chair of Middle East Studies and Associate Professor at Dickinson College, wrote that she regrets voting for Fetterman.
“Here is why Sen. Fetterman’s position is disturbing,” she wrote, “as an elected official and representative of the American people, Sen. Fetterman is supporting the practices of a foreign government, a far-right government that Israelis themselves spent this last summer protesting for its abuses of human rights, and these protests have not stopped after the Oct. 7 attacks.”
Related: Welp, I Actually Get To Write Something Good About John Fetterman
“Sen. Fetterman is speaking in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was accused of corruption, and he only returned to politics to avoid prosecution,” Rebeiz continued, ironically failing to acknowledge that Joe Biden has also been accused of corruption and may have returned to politics for similar reasons. “He also rejected negotiations of ceasefire in exchange [for] hostages.”
Rebeiz claims that by siding with Israel, Fetterman has broken his promise to Pennsylvanians, namely the “forgotten communities” he’s claimed to have dedicated his life to fighting for.
"Sen. Fetterman, let me ask you this,” she writes. "Would you consider American Jews and American Israelis opposing the Netanyahu Government’s practices as one of these communities? What about the Arab and Muslim American voices calling for ceasefire? Or would you consider us all terrorist[s] and equate us with Hamas? What about African American voices calling for ceasefire?"
Really?
That’s hardly the strongest argument, but it’s still indicative of the fact that there’s a growing and increasingly vocal anti-Israel constituency in the Democratic Party. Depending on how large that constituency is, it could be problematic for Fetterman down the road, assuming he sticks out his term instead of retiring for health reasons. Fetterman may not be who I wanted to win the race in 2022, but it’s troubling to think that pro-Israel Democrats could eventually cave to the anti-Semitic wing of the party or be voted out in primaries in favor of anti-Israel candidates.
