Protests are erupting outside of Senator Fetterman’s offices across Pennsylvania as hundreds of far-left activists demand the senator reverse his pro-Israel stance.  

Mr. Fetterman has stood in staunch support of the Jewish people since Hamas’s attack on October 7, distancing himself from the anti-Israel wing of his party. 

The senator began plastering the walls outside of his office with pictures of Israeli hostages on Wednesday. They hang next to an American flag, a POW/MIA flag, and a “progress pride” flag.

Mr. Fetterman also met with survivors of the October 7 attacks and families of Hamas’s hostages and says he will continue stressing the “urgent need to bring them all home.” 

When journalist Salena Zito posted a picture calling out “Free Palestine” graffiti in a heavily Jewish neighborhood at Pittsburgh, Mr. Fetterman agreed, saying it was “reprehensible” and that pictures of Israeli hostages are “the only thing that belongs on a wall right now.” 

“We now know this was a wide-scale, premeditated, cowardly, terrorist campaign against Israeli civilians that also claimed the lives of American citizens,” Mr. Fetterman said in a statement, adding that he will “unequivocally support” aid to Israel. 

“The United States has a moral obligation to be in lockstep with our ally as they confront this threat,” Mr. Fetterman said. “I also fully support Israel neutralizing the terrorists responsible for this barbarism.”

The senator has received backlash for his pro-Israel remarks, and he wrote on X — formerly Twitter — Wednesday that he still stands with Israel and demands the release of hostages. “Two things can be true at the same time,” he said, adding that he also grieves for “all innocent Palestinian lives lost.”

Last week, 16 of the senator’s former campaign staffers sent Mr. Fetterman a letter, urging him to “stand on the righteous side of history” by backing a ceasefire.

Protesters are targeting all four of the senator’s Pennsylvania offices, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, WHYY reports, demanding that Mr. Fetterman backpedal on his support to Israel. 

“Fetterman, why won’t you listen to your Palestinian constituents whose families are being slaughtered in our name with your money and with your approval? For shame,” one protester with an anti-Zionist group, Jewish Voice For Peace, Hila Kohen, said outside of Mr. Fetterman’s Philadelphia office.

Representatives for Jewish Voice For Peace did not respond to requests from the Sun for comment.  

The Pennsylvania senator is no stranger to controversy and press attention. Both during and after his 2022 race against Republican Mehmet Oz, Mr. Fetterman drew concern over seemingly unprofessional attire and poor health, sparking questions about whether he was up for the demanding job of public office, as the Sun reported.

Mr. Fetterman — a 6-foot, 8-inch, gym-clothes-wearing native Pennsylvanian — won his campaign by focusing on a blue-collar platform and flipping traditionally red counties. 

His arms are tattooed with the ZIP code of a rundown Pittsburgh suburb, Braddock, where Mr. Fetterman was mayor for 13 years, along with homicide dates from his time as mayor — which he says serve as a reminder of who he has lost and who he fights for. 

Despite his everyman image, Mr. Fetterman has supported far-left causes, including supporting abortion without any restrictions for minors or in the third trimester and the “Equality Act,” which criminalizes recognizing biological sex in employment, healthcare, and housing. 

And, despite sending his own children to one of  Pennsylvania’s most expensive prep schools, he has opposed school vouchers for lower-income families. 

Yet, the senator’s support for Israel is more vocal than that of many of his Democrat allies, and his stance doesn’t come entirely out of the blue. 

“I’m not really a progressive in that sense,” he told Jewish Insider regarding his views about Israel in April 2022. “Our campaign is based on core Democratic values and principles, and always has been, and there is no daylight between myself and these kinds of unwavering commitments to Israel’s security.”

Mr. Fetterman added that he wanted to be “absolutely clear” that he supported Israel and that his views “in no way go along the lines of some of the more fringe or extreme wings of our party.”

Representatives for Mr. Fetterman did not respond to requests from the Sun for comment.