(March 20, 2025 / JERUSALEM / JNS) Over the last several years and particularly since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has felt isolated diplomatically. Perhaps most painful for the Jewish state has been waning support among American Democrats, once stalwart defenders of Israel.

A near-lone voice from the left flank of the party has been Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman.  A towering giant easily recognized by his hooded sweatshirt attire, Fetterman has stood up for Israel time and again when other members of his party refused to do so.

When it comes to Israel, Fetterman is about as hawkish as it gets, willing to support it in its war efforts against Iran and its network of terror proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah.

The senator is on his second trip to Israel in the past year, touring the country, including on a Blackhawk helicopter, meeting families of Israeli hostages as well as those who lost loved ones in the war, and taking in Israeli culture, including what he calls “some of the best food in the world.”

This time he came on a mission organized by Relief Resources, an organization dedicated to matching up those in need of mental health care with the best available professional for their personal situation.

Fetterman, who was hosted with his wife, Gisele, on Wednesday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, sat down on Thursday with a small group of hand-picked journalists in Jerusalem to discuss Israel’s war, his steadfast support for the Jewish state and the U.S.-Israel relationship.

SUPPORT FOR MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN

Fetterman was unequivocal when asked about taking military action to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities. “I don’t think you can really effectively negotiate with that regime,” he said, suggesting that using military force is the only option.

Pressed further, Fetterman said, “Oh yeah. Blow it up! Blow it up! I think we should waste what’s left of their nuclear facilities.”

When asked directly whether he would support the United States joining Israel in such an operation, he confirmed he would back “partnering with Israel in that way… [with] whatever tools from the U.S., I would fully support that. Yeah, so however you describe that partnership, I fully support it,” Fetterman told JNS.

“I support that, and I think there is really a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do that after it’s been demonstrated that Iran lacks the capabilities to really project their threats,” he added.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S HARSH STANCE ON ISRAEL

Throughout the interview, Fetterman expressed deep disappointment in members of his own party who have distanced themselves from Israel.

“My party has, some of them, chosen to back away from supporting Israel,” he said. “I’ve always refused to pander to other factions.”

He criticized Democrats who attempt to equivocate on the issue, urging them to “stand with civilization, stand with democracy.”

Fetterman went on to suggest that “my party was punished” during the recent elections for failing to be “unapologetically supportive of Israel.” He pointed to Michigan, a state with a strong Muslim community and a progressive, Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib as one of the swing states that voted for Donald Trump.

“How ironic… Does Representative Tlaib just sit there while she [holds a] paddle and yelling during [Netanyahu’s] joint address, when you helped elect Trump. Do you really actually process this?”

CONDEMNATION OF PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP AND ‘PAY FOR SLAY’

When asked by JNS whether the Palestinian Authority should be classified as a terrorist organization for continuing its “Pay for Slay” policy—paying terrorists who attack Israeli civilians—Fetterman’s response was unfiltered.

“That’s disgusting,” he told JNS. “I’ve read interviews where one of them, they’re like, ‘Hey, that’s controversial to stop paying people that kill innocent civilians.’ What’s wrong with you?”

He added that in the recent negotiations with Hamas to see the release of hostages taken on Oct. 7, “Israel is forced to release prisoners that killed innocent civilians and they are cheered like heroes. I hope Israel never forgets or forgives. I hope they finish them out later.”

He also pointed to Palestinian society’s glorification of violence. “Look at the optics—when they release hostages, they cheer it like a Steeler game. And cheering even a casket of a child that they beat to death. That’s perverse.”

STANCE ON HOSTAGES AND ISRAEL’S MILITARY CAMPAIGN

Fetterman was adamant about prioritizing the return of hostages taken on Oct. 7, criticizing members of his party who have focused on advocating for Palestinian activists instead.

“There are human beings still in tunnels right now as we speak,” he said. “And now Israel was forced back to start the kinds of war back in Gaza. Well, it’s because… Hamas doesn’t want peace. They don’t want peace because they all understand that what they have left is keeping those poor people in tunnels. And that’s outrageous.”

When asked by JNS whether he believes there is a moderate liberal force among Palestinians that could rule Gaza, Fetterman suggested that the Palestinian people should reject their present leadership amid an integrated regional approach to peace.

With regard to the future of Gaza, he said, “It’s entirely appropriate to hold a lot of those other countries in the region… hold them accountable too.”

“Israel should not be forced to fight [alone] and they deserve the kinds of allyship from a lot of these nations where they should all agree, we all need peace. And so for me, what I would like for Gaza is a place where Palestinians reject the kinds of leadership that they’ve had for I think 17 or 18 years. And they have to turn their backs on and remove [the Hamas] charter that the front and center is destroying Israel as their organizing principle.”

Regarding those trying to spin the story to one of Israeli aggression against an innocent population, Fetterman was adamant. “So that’s part of the lie and part of the distortion in American media,” he said.

“They have been there for over 500 days. And yet, we have people in my party preoccupied with an activist at Columbia University? That individual gets his meals, a bed, a lawyer, and due process. The hostages have none of that. None.”

Fetterman is one of few Democrats to speak out powerfully against the pro-Hamas protests on university campuses and in support of President Trump’s initiative to withhold federal funding as a result.

“For me, Columbia University was kind of ground zero of that monoculture run amuck and allowed antisemitism to take over,” he stated. “And now it’s incredibly politically dangerous as a Democrat to support what President Trump did to punish Columbia with about $400 million, and to withhold those things.”

He added that to “allow the mob rule is not free speech, creating tent cities to create that kinds of chaos and terrorize Jewish students.” Fetterman said that he “met with Jewish students across the country and they’ve reached out and it’s like, they don’t deserve to live like that.”

RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL’S PREMIER

Fetterman maintains a strong relationship with Netanyahu.  “I was very supportive of the prime minister. Some people might think he’s the wrong leader, whatever. Hey, if you have a choice and our ally, a Democratic-elected leader, well, I’m definitely going to stand on that side.”

He was critical of fellow Democrats, including Sen. Charles Schumer, who refused to acknowledge Netanyahu during a joint congressional address. “That’s pathetic,” he told JNS. “Basic courtesy is just saying hello, even if you don’t agree politically. But to refuse to shake his hand—it’s just sad.”

In their meeting, the prime minister gifted Fetterman a silver beeper, a symbolic nod to Israeli forces’ efforts in eliminating terrorist leaders. Fetterman embraced the gesture. “Oh, I love it. Thank you!” he said.

ADDRESSING ANTISEMITISM AND PROGRESSIVE POLITICS

Fetterman acknowledged that within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, support for Israel has waned. He linked this shift to the increasing presence of antisemitism in left-wing political movements.

“More and more, being anti-Israel is becoming part of progressive politics,” he told JNS. “That’s pathetic.”

He was also blunt about the contradictions within certain activist groups. “You have ‘Queers for Palestine,’” he noted. “Well, don’t find out how that would go for you in Gaza.”

While many Israelis consider Fetterman a hero for standing up for Israel, the senator said he didn’t want any such distinction. “I push back that or the word ‘courage’ being a senator, that’s not courageous for me. I’m just doing a job and it’s like, these are my values,” he said.

“I’ve met people where they’ve lost their husbands, two women, they both have eight children. To me, I describe that as courage. Raising eight children after your husband was lost defending Israel. Or children that are able to play on the same sacred space [a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams] that [12] children were murdered from a rocket. So to me, that’s courage.”

STRENGTHENING U.S.-ISRAEL TIES

Fetterman called for strengthened U.S. support for Israel, rejecting any notion that his party should distance itself from the Jewish state.

“I refuse to turn my back on Israel,” he told JNS, adding that many of his fellow democrats “have lost their way, but I will continue to be that voice in my party.”

He said his visit to Israel further solidified his beliefs, describing the nation as a beacon of democracy in a hostile region. “People need to see what they’ve created here,” he said. “They don’t deserve to have to constantly defend that way of life. And that’s why we must remain one of Israel’s strongest allies.”