Angry pro-Palestinian protesters attacked Democratic Senator John Fetterman as he waved an Israeli flag and strolled through a crowd demanding a ceasefire on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
A viral video posted by the social media account @VetsAboutFace shows Fetterman emerging from the Russell Senate Office Building with a small Star of David flag in his hand.
The seething crowd erupted in anger as they shouted “Shame!” What a joke!’ as Fetterman, wearing his signature hoodie and shorts, casually walked past protesters who were being handcuffed by Capitol security forces.
A protester escalated his accusations, hissing, “You support genocide,” as Fetterman walked past, calm in the face of the heated chants and vitriol spewing from the crowd.
Before leaving, Fetterman turned back to the crowd and angered the protesters by waving the Israeli flag again.
Democratic Senator John Fetterman sparked a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters on Capitol Hill on Thursday by waving an Israeli flag against those calling for a ceasefire
As Fetterman walked through the crowd in his signature hoodie and shorts, angry pro-Palestinian protesters shouted, “Shame! What a joke!”
The senator’s support for Israel has put him in opposition to many within the Democratic Party and among his supporters who do not share his views
“Jackass @JohnFetterman saw veterans getting arrested and laughed,” veterans war group About Face wrote on X, formerly Twitter, alongside the video.
“We asked to see @SenGillibrand. We were handcuffed. “We need leaders to listen to veterans who are calling for a #CeaseFireNow,” the group continued.
The advocacy group organized Thursday’s protest to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.
Protesters occupied Senator Gillibrand’s office and demanded a meeting with her over Veterans Day weekend. Several protesters were arrested after Capitol Police arrived at the scene.
Fetterman has been known as a staunch supporter of Israel since the brutal October 7 massacre in which Hamas slaughtered 1,400 innocent civilians.
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania senator said, “In my front office I put up the posters of the innocent Israelis kidnapped by Hamas.” shared a video of the posters on X
“You will remain awake until every single person has returned home safely,” he wrote.
Fetterman also said he had met with families of Hams hostages and survivors of the October 7 massacre last month.
“Together we began hanging photos of the hostages outside my office to highlight the urgent need to bring them all home.” “My office is publishing every single one,” he wrote on X.
The senator’s support for Israel has put him in opposition to many within the Democratic Party and among his supporters who do not share his views.
He criticized his Democratic colleagues for rushing to blame Israel for a hospital explosion in Gaza last month.
“It is truly disturbing that members of Congress were quick to blame Israel for the hospital tragedy in Gaza,” Fetterman said in a post on X.
“Who would consider the word of a group that just massacred innocent Israeli citizens to be our most important ally?”
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat, angered many on the left after he waved an Israeli flag in front of anti-Israel protesters who were arrested at the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/z8u9gfkY2E
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 10, 2023
Despite the crowd’s heated reaction, he turned around with a smile and waved the Israeli flag again before leaving
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania senator said, “In my front office I have the posters of the innocent Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on display,” and shared a video of the posters on X
More than 200 hostages were kidnapped from Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. The youngest is a ten month old baby.
Hamas has released video footage of some hostages as proof of life and said last week it was “ready” to allow some to return home after relentless airstrikes.
An Israeli official said Thursday that it was not known how many Hamas hostages were still alive after being forced underground, and the health status of most of the hostages remained unknown.
At a demonstration of Hamas’s atrocity at the consulate in New York, officials publicly pleaded for “reciprocal” humanitarian aid to rescue the hostages, as the world calls for a ceasefire to save the remaining civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“We have some intelligence that we are not sharing, but it is largely a black hole,” said Aviv Ezra, Israel’s acting consul general in New York.
“They were divided into groups, but we don’t know how.” Hamas won’t even tell us their names.
“There are 10 people who we still cannot say whether they were killed or kidnapped because the bodies of the murdered were so badly burned,” he said.
Israel is demanding the release of the hostages as part of the four-hour daily humanitarian pause agreed yesterday.