Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) continued his war of words against the pro-Hamas lobby that has been staging demonstrations on college campuses across the country. Fetterman, a vocal supporter of Israel, has clashed with anti-Israel activists on multiple occasions since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
During an appearance on NewsNation, the senator was asked about President Joe Biden’s approach to the matter after he recently condemned those employing antisemitic rhetoric during the protests. “What tone do you think [Biden] should be taking?” the host asked.
Fetterman responded by noting that “it’s very clear that there is a … germ of antisemitism in all of these protests” and brought up the activist who discussed killing Zionists at Columbia University.
Then he defended himself by saying, “Well, those were taken out of context.” I’m like, well, that’s very similar to the way the college presidents, that same language and those monocultures that create situations and that replicates. Now, it’s not a surprise that when you’re seeing this manifest itself in a campus like this. Now, of course, it’s a great American value to protest, but I don’t believe living in a pup tent for Hamas is really helpful.
The subject turned to Israel’s right to defend itself without interference from the United States. Fetterman replied, affirming this right, and said Israel also has the right “to go after and eliminate Hamas, or at least to force them to surrender.”
“I’m always confused why we’re not talking about that more…Why are we protesting? I can’t end that war. Joe Biden can’t end that war. Netanyahu can’t end that war. But Hamas could end it right now immediately. They could release the last hostage, and they could surrender. All of the misery and the death and the destruction ends right there, too. For a true peace, you cannot allow Hamas to allow it to function. They’ve been very clear. They’re proud of what we’ve done, and we’re going to do it again and again. It’s very reasonable to make sure that Hamas needs to be neutralized.”
The protests have become a national issue, with many of the demonstrations involving violence and threats against Jewish students. Anti-Israel activists have been engaging in these shenanigans to pressure universities into cutting ties with Israel.
Columbia University, in particular, has been a main focal point in the discussion. Minouche Shafik, the school’s president who has been attempting to negotiate with the activists, recently announced that they failed to reach an agreement.
Also noteworthy is the fact that Shafik publicly stated that she would refuse to cut ties with Israel, a key demand from the pro-Hamas lobby.
“While the university will not divest from Israel,” Shafik said, she also revealed what sounded like a counteroffer to the demonstrators: an expedited timeline for a review of new “proposals from students” by the school’s Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing, which explores divestment.
Fetterman’s point about camping out in pup tents to crybully universities into abandoning their relationships with Israel is about as smart as leaving Rep. Eric Swalwell alone with a Chinese spy. These folks seem to believe that staging these demonstrations will eventually lead to these universities divesting from the Jewish state. But, in reality, all these people have managed to do is make themselves look foolish while also turning the nation against them with their antics.
