John Fetterman is the Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania, best known for his unswerving support for Israel. He may be the most pro-Israel member of Congress; he is certainly the most pro-Israel Democrat. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that Israel “has no better friend.” “The president of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Ari Berman, in presenting Fetterman with his university’s presidential medallion for global leadership, called Fetterman Israel’s single greatest friend in Washington.”
He has a large Israeli flag hanging in his Senate office. He has pictures of the Israeli hostages affixed to the wall of the corridor just outside his Congressional office. He wants the IDF to be provided with whatever arms it may need, but otherwise left alone by Washington so that it can finish the job of destroying Hamas in Gaza and dismantling Hezbollah in southern Lebanon — that last goal, however, may not be achieved if the new ceasefire takes effect. Fetterman recently was interviewed on Fox News, during which he expressed his delight with the pro-Israel appointments that President-elect Trump has made so far.
More on his enthusiasm for Trump’s choices can be found here: “John Fetterman Signals ‘Enthusiastic’ Support for Pro-Israel Trump Cabinet Picks,” by Corey Walker, Algemeiner, November 25, 2024:
US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) expressed excitement about the incoming Trump administration’s seemingly pro-Israel posture, suggesting that he will seek bipartisan opportunities to advance policies that favor the Jewish state.
During an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream, Fetterman reiterated that he wants Israel to continue its ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon until it decimates the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups. The senator also praised the foreign policy selections for US President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, predicting that the incoming administration will allow Israel to continue its “progress” in thwarting neighboring Iran-backed terrorist groups.
“In terms of the incoming administration, I like what I see in terms of being very, very strong pro-Israel,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman affirmed that he will continue his vocal support for Israel when the Trump administration takes office in January.
“And when the administration will change, my vote and voice won’t change either, and that’s going to follow Israel,” Fetterman said, lauding the “magnificent” efforts of the Jewish state to secure peace in the Middle East by fighting against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.
Though Fetterman campaigned as a progressive, he has emerged as a staunch ally of Israel in the year following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Fetterman has repeatedly condemned anti-Israel voices within his own party in the US Congress, as well as elite universities for tolerating what he has characterized as antisemitic and anti-Israel hate speech on their campuses.
Fetterman praised Trump’s selection of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to serve as the next secretary of state, stating that he will “enthusiastically vote yes” for the Florida Republican. The Pennsylvania Democrat signaled that he’s open to voting for several of Trump’s cabinet picks, claiming that he’s not going to “pre-hate” any of the candidates the president-elect has put forward without engaging in conversation with them.
He could also have mentioned several other of Trump’s choices. Mike Waltz, nominated to be National Security Advisor, has praised Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for operations against Hamas and Hezbollah, including the recent pager and walkie-talkie operation against Hezbollah. He noted that “Hamas has been devastated,” and “Iran is incredibly exposed at this point.” He has denounced the ICC for the arrest warrants it has just issued for Netanyahu and Israel’s former defense minister Yoav Gallant. Fetterman could also have mentioned Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to head the Defense Department. Hegseth is particularly incensed by the inclusion of Turkey in NATO. He argues that the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “openly dreams of restoring the Ottoman empire” and is “an Islamist with Islamist visions for the Middle East.” He despises the UN, which he calls “a fully globalist organization that aggressively advances an anti-American, anti-Israel, and anti-freedom agenda. Here’s one set of rules for the United States and Israel, another for everyone else.” Hegseth has said that “if you love America, you should love Israel.” Then there is Elise Stefanik, Trump’s choice to be America’s UN ambassador, who is known both for her unswerving support for Israel and for her investigation of antisemitism on college campuses, in which she scathingly denounced the wavering responses of three college presidents when she asked them, point-blank, would a threat to kill Jews violate your university’s code of conduct? Finally, there is Trump’s choice of Mike Huckabee to be Ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has questioned whether the “Palestinian people” exist, has said that Judea and Samaria (a/k/a the West Bank) belong by right to Israel, and opposes a “two-state solution.” So with that lineup — Rubio, Waltz, Stefanik, Huckabee — Fetterman has reason to be pleased with Trump’s choices.
Fetterman also took a swipe at his Democratic colleagues for expressing an increasingly adversarial stance toward Israel. He asserted that Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza was “very just” and touted his repeated refusals to support a “ceasefire” between the Jewish state and the terrorist group, praising Israel for having effectively “eliminated and broken” Hamas, Hezbollah, and their backers in Iran….
Hamas and Hezbollah are being pummeled, but I would beg to differ with Fetterman about Iran being “eliminated and broken.” Its anti-missile defense systems, including the four S-300 systems that protect Tehran, have all been destroyed. So have Iran’s ballistic missile factories. But even though the IAF destroyed a hitherto unknown nuclear research facility at Parchin, Iran still has its uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow, as well as other components of its nuclear program.
Fetterman is an aberration in today’s Democratic Party of “progressives” that is sliding ever closer to the left — that is, to policies promoted by The Squad of Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He’s an old-school Democrat, akin to Senators Henry Jackson and Daniel Inouye, both of whom were noted for their unswerving support of Israel. Perhaps he’ll be able to persuade a few fellow Democrats that the embattled Jewish state, now fighting a four-front war against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iran, deserves their total support, too. Let us hope for more Fettermans to appear in the ranks of the Democrats, unfettered by loyalty to a party that, when it comes to Israel, has lost its way.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I owe him several apologies for mocking him when he was running. But one thing I decided then and now: if I were a voter in Pennsylvania, I’d have voted for Kathy Barnett in the primaries and abstained in the general. Had I known that Fetterman would have turned out the way he did, I’d have voted for him, despite his support to Biden, which I’m guessing party loyalty requires to some extent
If he keeps doing this, he can keep wearing his hoodies and shorts, and even go around barefoot – I won’t mind 😈😂
PPR says
I`ve lived in eastern PA for over 70 years. As a small town mayor, then, lt. governor, now, senator, Festerman was, and, is, a far leftist, with, other than his pro Israel words, nothing but ridiculous ideas about our laws, policies, and, how America should be governed. He puts the “dem”, in demented.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I hear you, but he hasn’t been saying much of that of late. If anything, he’s been willing to confront his party leadership, particularly dangerous ones like Nancy Pelosi, and mock them. I think what we have now is a different person than the person that was, which you describe
James Lincoln says
Infidel,
I, too, cannot believe the “transformation” of Fetterman. And I hope that it is for real.
At least on some issues, he goes against the prevailing leftist narrative.
He’s certainly no MAGA, but he is better than most Democrats – and even a few RINOs.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
James
I certainly prefer him over the likes of a Lisa Murkowski. Or even a Susan Collins
JimJFox says
At last the World has a chance to return to sanity after years of lunatic beliefs and policies.
I’d love to see Trump sanction the UK for exactly such idiocy.
Nick says
Amen to that. The UK need to be shown how damn foolish they are.