Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) criticized anti-Israel protesters taking part in encampments that have been established on several college and university campuses within the past week.
In an interview on NewsNation on Sunday, with host Chris Stirewalt, Fetterman defended the right for American citizens to protest, while slamming anti-Israel protesters who were camped out in tents on campuses such as Columbia University and Harvard University.
WATCH — Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian Protesters Clash at UCLA:
Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart News
Protesters in the encampments have called for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, for universities to divest from Israeli companies, to end study abroad programs to Israel, and for the United States government to stop arming Israel.
“It’s a great American value to protest, but I don’t believe living in a pup tent for Hamas is really helpful,” Fetterman said.
“It’s a great American value to protest, but I don’t believe living in a pup tent for Hamas is really helpful,” @JohnFetterman, D-Pa., told NewsNation’s Chris Stirewalt on #TheHillSunday as he addressed the increase of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. pic.twitter.com/elhIQepmm5
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) April 28, 2024
Anti-Israel protests and encampments have been popping up on college and university campuses such as Northwestern University, the University of California Los Angeles, Harvard University, George Washington University, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Pennsylvania.
The anti-Israel encampments and protests come in support of an initial encampment that was established at Columbia University.
Since the start of the anti-Israel encampments, students at several universities and colleges have been suspended, those participating in the encampments have been arrested, and graduation ceremonies have been canceled.
WATCH — Pro-Palestinian Demonstrator Snatches Israeli Flag from Counter-Protester, Scuffle Ensues:
Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart News
Fetterman added that there was a “germ of antisemitism in all of these protests and then sometimes it flares up,” continuing on to reference words Khymani James, one of the leaders of the anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University, had said.
“One of the leaders in Columbia said some just awful things talking about, ‘Well, they’re lucky I’m not killing Zionists,’ and things like that. And, then he defended himself by saying, ‘Well, those were taken out of context,’ and I’m like, well those are very similar to the way the college presidents, same kind of language.”
Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left 1,200 people dead and more than 200 people taken as hostages, antisemitic incidents in the United States have risen.
In the three months after Hamas’s attack, the Anti-Defamation League reported there had been roughly 3,291 antisemitic incidents, a 360 percent increase.
Since Hamas’s attack, Fetterman has defended Israel and criticized anti-Israel protesters.
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