Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., has emerged as one of the most reliable supporters of the Jewish community in his hometown, which is located a handful of miles from where the deadliest massacre of Jews happened in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh five years ago. This support is changing how many in the state see him.
David Knoll, a Pittsburgh-based businessman and Democrat who launched a last-minute quixotic challenge to local county councilwoman Bethany Hallam over her social media posts supporting anti-Semitism, said, “Fetterman has been better than anyone could have hoped, and honestly did not see that coming, but we welcome his support whole-heartedly.”
Knoll, who lives in Squirrel Hill, said what he especially loves is Fetterman’s refusal to cower to either the members of the media or members of his own party who are at odds with his staunch support of Israel.
Fetterman, in an interview with the Washington Examiner, said he is not concerned about falling in or out of some sort of political categorization. “I am not worried about labels or what people want to label me, I am about being clear where I stand, and I always have been,” he said in an emailed interview.
“I am on what I believe is the right side of this issue, I’m not concerned about a label. Israel is our key, closest ally, and we need to support them in this fight,” he said, adding, “if we want peace and we want a two-state solution, then Israel needs to be able to destroy Hamas.”
Fetterman said he fundamentally believes destroying Hamas is the only pathway to a real solution to this conflict, “And it’s not at all at odds with my other beliefs. Hamas has systematically used rape and murder as part of its war, brutalizing Israeli women. It’s horrifying. We cannot pretend that Hamas is a rational entity.”
Knoll said he and other members of the Jewish community in Pittsburgh are deeply concerned by the recent antisemitic graffiti and vandalism that has happened in Squirrel Hill. Pro-Israel flags have even been burned in front of people’s houses.
Last week, there was an “unfounded” online threat made at an unnamed local synagogue that Pittsburgh police said they were still investigating.
Fetterman said he and his office unequivocally have their back. “We stand with you and support you. You have an ally in me, and please do not hesitate to reach out to my office if there is anything we can help you with,” he said.
One of the first things Fetterman did this past week was calling Michael Solomonov, a Pittsburgh native, chef and restaurateur, whose vegan falafel shop Goldie became the target of hundreds of agitated pro-Palestinian protesters who had gathered in Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, then took their march down Sansom Street, chanting, “Goldie, Goldie you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide,” as they made their way toward Solomonov’s restaurant.
Organized by the Philadelphia Free Palestine Coalition, a Facebook post instructed supporters to “flood the streets” Sunday night, and they did, shouting anti-Semitic remarks and placing pro-Palestinian stickers on the doors of businesses along their route.
Fetterman said he talked with Michael to let him know he has his back. “The fact that an angry mob attacked a Jewish business is completely appalling and frankly shocking that this can even happen. Everyone needs to swiftly condemn what happened. I’ve spoken to a lot of different people from the Jewish community across Pennsylvania, and they are actually feeling unsafe right now. And now, you have a mob attacking a Jewish restaurant in downtown Philadelphia. It’s unacceptable.”
Salena Zito is a CNN political analyst, and a staff reporter and columnist for the Washington Examiner. She reaches the Everyman and Everywoman through shoe-leather journalism, traveling from Main Street to the beltway and all places in between. To find out more about Salena and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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Fetterman is a moron, so nobody should be surprised. I find this entire episode sickening. Opposing Zionism is perfectly moral. Opposing the imposition of a Jewish state on Arab Muslim people’s is perfectly moral.
None of the above is ‘antisemitic’. For those here too ignorant to understand this, just go find an Orthodox Jew and have him explain why he believes Zionism is not Jewish at all. Why they are offended by the impulse to make Judaism a nationality, when it never was. Of course, Jews are welcome to their political campaign to obtain and maintain a Jewish nation state. Just as any American is free to criticize it and those who pursue such an immoral, colonialist project.
The Right will sorely regret conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism as the exact same rationale is used to shut down Right wing ‘hate speech’ on campus. We are playing into the commie left’s authoritarian wet dream by allowing this stupid conflation of being Jewish with Zionism. The Jews have campaigned to make this so for 20 years, fyi. It’s been a key talking point of the Jewish activists narrative forever now, claiming that to oppose Zionism is antisemitic.
I believe we should expel all Zionists as they cannot seem to resist using the American political system for their political ends. Go move to Israel if you want to advocate for Zionism. But such a religious supremacist idea has no place in the U.S. None. Where did we get the crazy idea that Israel isn’t a religious supremacist state? If you don’t know this, go read their 2018 NationState law, it codifies Jewish supremacy into Israeli legal and social order.
But hey, they are our allies!!! Lol. Only when its convenient for them. They are also quite friendly with many of our enemies. The idea that we need them or would be harmed by cutting ties with Israel is so stupid, it’s not even worth commenting on - it’s just a lie. 99% of Americans would not even notice if Israel disappeared from the face of the earth tomorrow.
Last. Israel is going to lose. It started a war with 500 million Arab Muslim neighbors that it can never win in the long run. I want no part of that religious war. How can any sane American claim that the U.S. should take sides in a religious war?
Wake up. If you support shutting down criticism of Zionism and conflate it with antisemitism, you are being played and used. Zionism is Un-American.
And Islam isn’t “religious supremacist “? Give me a break!!
What complete Islamic puffery. Islam did not exist until 630 or so AD. Jews have resided in what we today call Judea and Samaria for several millennia. In 638AD invaders from the Arabian peninsula conquered the Byzantine army and occupied the areas where most Jews lived. So, yes, the Jews and the Zionist have a clear claim to the land we call today Israel.
Sure they are - we should never support Hamas. Why do you think the Zionists are any better? Are you aware of the history of Zionism and the horrors they committed gain their state?
Shut up. There hasn’t been a Jewish nation in Palestine for 1800 years. They were run off long before the Muslims came a long. The remainder in Judea and Samaria were there, sure. Are you aware that by the 1800s there were only 25k Jews in Palestine at all and that it had been that way for over one thousand years? Are you aware that those same 25k Jews begged Herzl and the Zionists not to import Jews into Palestine at scale, stating it would cause endless war? 600k Jews were imported over the next 50 years. That’s the textbook definition of ‘colonization’, son. My guess is you know little about the history of Zionism. Have you read any Benny Morris, the leading historian on Zionism?
He makes lots of excuses for the Zionist’hs theft of Arab Muslim land (they took much more than the U.N. population granted) and then ethnically cleansing 750k Arab Muslims from their ancient homes. It’s true that the Zionists didn’t complete their ethnic cleansing project, but they removed enough Arab Muslims to insure they had large Jewish majority to form their Jewish nation. Keep in mind the partition left Israel with half the population being non-Jewish and this was not possible. They were always going to have to ethnic cleanse to set up their religious state.
Zionists have always been the aggressors. This should matter to rational people. Fyi, none of this means I support Hamas in any way, or any Pali. They have folded their cause into Jihad and are barbarous lunatics. Of course I do not suggest supporting them. I just know the actual history of Zionism and realize they are no better. Only ignorance can have one not know this about the Zionists.
I’ll leave you with this question again. How many Brits did the Zionists Irgun terrorists kill to gain their state? Are you aware of how awful the Zionists have been? It should disgust any American that this was done under the auspices of the U.N. and with the justification of ‘self determination of peoples’. But they ignored the claims of the Arab Muslims actually living there at the times, their ‘self determination’ was thrown in the garbage by the very colonial powers who were claiming to be anti-colonialist.
Try to imagine you were an Arab Muslim living in Palestine in '47 in a home and village your family and neighbors had lived in for over 1000 years and one day you are told you are now living in a Jewish state against your will? Imagine then that the Zionists militant then laid siege to your town, after massacring others in other towns previously? Do you think you’d find that just?
The question isn’t why to support the Palis - sure, that’s not our biz as Americans. But why on earth support the Zionists? Why make enemies of most of the Muslim world by supporting their oppression?