Mary Lou Masters
Pro-Palestinian protesters shouted down Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Thursday after he maintained that Hamas should be condemned for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel.
Prior to a press conference on Capitol Hill over the Israel-Hamas war held by “Squad” members and other left-wing Democrats, Fetterman was pressed by the Daily Caller News Foundation over the issue. After the senator condemned Hamas for its attack on Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters questioned Fetterman over civilian casualties in Gaza and what one viewed as the “genocide of the Palestinian people.”
“Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush are about to call for a ceasefire again, and you have all these protesters. Do you think that your Democratic colleagues should face pressure to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization?” the DCNF asked.
“Everyone should be condemning Hamas. I don’t know why U.N. hasn’t condemned Hamas —” Fetterman replied.
“It has, it has condemned Hamas,” one protester interjected.
“Everybody has condemned Hamas,” another can be heard shouting. “Do you think everybody should condemn the genocide against the Palestinian people?”
“Hamas should be condemned,” said Fetterman.
“What about the Palestinian children, do you care about them?” the other protester shouted.
Tlaib, Bush, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ro Khanna of California and André Carson of Indiana joined with union leaders to call for Israel to commit to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Fetterman has been outspoken on the issue, and has maintained support for Israel’s right to defend itself against the terrorist group. The senator has even called out some of his left-wing Democratic colleagues in Congress for their pro-Palestinian stance.
The senator previously walked past a group of protesters in early November while waiving an Israeli flag and fielding boos from the crowd.
The conflict has represented a rift in the Democratic Party ahead of a contentious election year. President Joe Biden has also caught flack from the left-wing segment of the party for supporting the ally, his close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his refusal to call for a ceasefire.
Several of the left-wing members who have called for a ceasefire are facing primary challenges from pro-Israel Democrats in 2024, including Bush, Omar, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania. Tlaib has threatened to pull support from Biden’s reelection bid over the conflict.
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