Sen. John Fetterman disavowed himself from his alma mater Harvard on Wednesday to protest what he says is the university’s “failure to stand up for the Jewish community” by removing his crimson hood during a commencement ceremony .
The Pennsylvania senator is one of Israel’s strongest advocates in Democratic circles. He received a “presidential medallion” at the commencement of Yeshiva University for being a “hero of Israel.”
“I was wondering when I last graduated and it was literally a quarter of a century ago, 25 years ago,” he told a crowd of graduates. “I was a graduate of Harvard University, but today I was deeply disappointed by Harvard’s failure to stand up for the Jewish community.”
“For me personally, I fundamentally don’t believe it’s right for me to wear this today,” he added, removing his crimson hood. The crowd gasped before breaking into a standing ovation.
Fetterman graduated from Harvard’s Kennedy School with a master’s degree in public policy in 1999.
Sen. John Fetterman disavowed himself from his alma mater Harvard on Wednesday to protest what he says is the university’s “failure to stand up for the Jewish community” by removing his crimson hood during a commencement ceremony .
Fetterman (D-PA) removes graduation hood from Harvard Kennedy School to protest Harvard’s handling of the Jewish community on campus
Orthodox Jewish University in Queens, New York, graduated 1,700 students on Wednesday.
While many Democrats have increasingly expressed frustration with Israel as the Palestinian death toll mounts in its mission to eradicate Hamas, Fetterman has not done so.
Fetterman was asked on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday whether Israel crossed a “red line” by targeting a refugee camp in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing dozens of civilians and two senior commanders. of Hamas.
“Hamas, these cowards, are hiding behind the civilians, and now it is becoming more and more (clear) that there was an ammunition depot there that exploded. This is where Hamas is hiding them, and this adds even more damage,” he said Wednesday.
Fetterman (D-PA) presents a Nova Music Festival bracelet, donated by a family member of someone taken hostage at the festival
Fetterman poses with Yeshiva graduates who gave him a standing ovation for opting out of Harvard
At least 45 people from the Kuwaiti Al-Salam 1 camp, built in early January, were killed by the explosion and subsequent fires, according to Gaza’s health ministry. More than 240 were injured.
Israeli Admiral Daniel Hagari said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not expect the bombings to kill civilians – and suggested the fires could have started because Hamas had stored weapons in The area.
“Our munitions alone could not have started a fire of this magnitude,” Hagari said.
Fetterman criticized President Joe Biden for briefly suspending a number of arms deliveries to Israel and criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) for issuing an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas commanders .
“I have no conditions, I never have, and I can’t imagine that I ever will,” he said recently about U.S. aid to Israel.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have died in the Israeli offensive, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, after some 1,200 Israelis died in the October 7 attack.
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