Fetterman to make first trip to Israel next week
The Pennsylvania Democrat has been outspoken in his support for Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks
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Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman campaigns for U.S. Senate at a meet and greet at Joseph A. Hardy Connellsville Airport on May 10, 2022, in Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) will travel to Israel next week, three sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Jewish Insider.
The trip, which will take place next Wednesday and Thursday, will mark Fetterman’s first-ever visit to Israel and his second international trip since being elected to the Senate in 2022. Despite being one of Israel’s strongest allies in the Democratic Party, the Pennsylvania senator has never been to the country.
He has also only been on one congressional delegation out of the United States, his first being a brief visit to Turks and Caicos last month as part of a bipartisan delegation that facilitated the release of five detained Americans. Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during his Senate campaign, has spent most of his time between Washington and Pennsylvania since being elected.
Fetterman has emerged since Oct. 7 as one of Israel’s strongest allies in the Democratic Party. He has also bucked the shift away from Israel in recent months by some progressive Democrats, supporting, among other things, continued offensive military aid. He has also led on legislation combating antisemitism on college campuses alongside Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the lead Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.