John Fetterman says he would leave Democrats if they became ‘anti-Israel’ | US news
Sen. John Fetterman said he would consider leaving the Democratic party, which has now become the “anti-Israel party,” as more than 100 House lawmakers support halting military aid to the Middle Eastern ally over its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.
The Pennsylvania senator has emerged as one of Israel’s most prominent advocates among Senate Democrats, even as others in the party have backed away from their traditional support for the country amid accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is committing genocide in Gaza.
“My long-term concern has been with the Democratic party, because I’m a member of it, that our party will step back and turn its back on Israel,” Fetterman said Wednesday at an event hosted by the Hill and NewsNation.
Referring to recent primary election victories by candidates opposed to aid to Israel, Fetterman said: “If our party ever became the anti-Israel party, that’s when I said I would leave.”
“This was a moral clarity for me,” he added.
While the senator acknowledged some attempts by Republicans to persuade him to switch sides, he said he otherwise had no interest in doing so because he disagreed with many of the GOP’s policies.
“I’ve made it very clear. I will never change my party except for the one condition we just discussed,” Fetterman said. “If I were going to do it, I would have done it already.”
The senator spoke the same day. 103 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted for a failed bid to withhold $3.3 billion in aid, mostly to Israel. The vote on Wednesday afternoon amounted to a significant condemnation of US policy towards the country; Some long-time supporters of defense aid to Israel have said they can no longer justify sending weapons to Israel.
“The American people rightfully demand an end to a cycle of perpetual war, and the Netanyahu government cannot continue its current course,” said Democratic former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, adding that she voted yes “on the message it sends.”
In April, majorities of Democratic senators voted for two initiatives by independent Bernie Sanders to block the sale of bombs and bulldozers to Israel. Fetterman rejected both measures.
