US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), left, meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Israel, June 25, 2024. Photo: Ma’ayan Toaf (GPO)

US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday while on his first-ever trip to Israel. 

Herzog thanked Fetterman for his steadfast support for the Jewish state in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter across southern Israel and throughout the ensuing war in Gaza. The Israeli president praised Fetterman as a “beacon of moral clarity” for his unrelenting defense of Israel. 

“Welcome to Israel my friend. I know that you come out of passion and love for this country,” Herzog said. “And I want to say thank you, on behalf of our nation and behalf of Israel. Those who stand with us showing moral clarity, we shall never forget them. And we want to thank you; you’re a true leader.”

Fetterman showed Herzog a bracelet gifted to him by family members of the victims of the Oct. 7 Nova Music Festival massacre. The senator told Herzog that he will not remove the bracelet until all the remaining hostages are released from Hamas’ captivity in Gaza and reunited with their families. 

“I was moved to see you wearing a bracelet from the Nova festival. We deeply appreciate your vocal support for the hostages brutally held by Hamas and your clear demand for their immediate release,” Herzog said. 

“I’m honored by those words, but I don’t really believe I should be thanked for just doing my job,” Fetterman responded. “It’s been a very easy and clear choice throughout all of this, through everything your nation has been through after Oct. 7. I’ve always wanted to be a very consistent voice throughout all this.”

Though the Pennsylvania senator campaigned as a progressive, he has surprisingly emerged as a staunch ally of Israel in the months following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Fetterman has repeatedly condemned the anti-Israel voices within his own party in Congress.

The Democratic senator has even slammed US President Joe Biden for withholding weapons meant for Israel, arguing that there should be “no conditions” on arms transfers to the Jewish state. 

“If there should be any kind of conditions, it should be on Hamas and its enablers and its benefactors,” Fetterman said on Fox News.

Fetterman’s decision to align himself with the pro-Israel cause has rankled some of his closest allies. Last year, 16 former campaign staffers penned a letter urging the senator to “join the right side of history” by supporting a “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas. Several of his top communications staffers have fled to join anti-Israel operations such as the Working Families Party or the office of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.