Battleground senators condemn antisemitism at Hatch Foundation event after terror attack
Pennsylvania Sens. John Fetterman and David McCormick joined together to condemn antisemitism at a bipartisan event just a day after police say a terror attack in Colorado was the latest in a series of increasing acts of antisemitism in the U.S.
Fetterman, a Democrat and staunch ally of Israel, and McCormick, a Republican in his first term, joined the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation for its Senate Project Series on Monday.
They admitted that while they disagree on many things, they both stand against the 'horrific rise of antisemitism across our country and the world.'
That includes in their home state, where a man broke into Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's mansion in April and threw in two Molotov cocktails, starting a fire. No injuries were reported, but Shapiro had celebrated Passover with his family just hours before the attack. Police later said the suspect cited the war in Gaza as a reason for the attack.
The Hatch Foundation series is intended to bridge the gap between parties, create dialogue between lawmakers on opposite sides of the aisle in the Senate and build on the relationship between former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican, and former Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat.
Fetterman and McCormick's conversation, moderated by Fox News' Shannon Bream, came just a day after a terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, where police arrested a suspect after he used a 'makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device' into a crowd of people participating in a walk for the hostages held by Hamas. Witnesses said the man yelled 'Free Palestine' as he carried out the attacks.
Fetterman, who has been one of the most outspoken Democrats backing Israel in the ongoing conflict, highlighted the attack in Boulder while speaking to the crowd at the event Monday.
'What happened yesterday in Boulder, it's astonishing, you know, the kinds of, the rank antisemitism … out of control,' Fetterman said.
The attack comes as a rise of antisemitism occurs across the country in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
According to the Anti-Defamation League's Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, assault and vandalism increased significantly in 2024 and overall antisemitic incidents increased 5% from the year before. The FBI has reported that hate crimes for all races, religions, sexual orientation and gender were on the rise in 2023.
The senators noted how there's been a rise in their state of Pennsylvania, too, evident in the attack on Shapiro.
McCormick said he visited the University of Pennsylvania campus, where pro-Palestinian protests occurred, including a 16-day encampment in 2024 as part of a larger wave of demonstrations at universities across the country.
'You started to see these huge … rallies and this antisemitist … hate,' McCormick said Monday. 'Hatred really spewed at places like University of Pennsylvania and others. I actually went to University of Pennsylvania, saw these demonstrations. This wasn't free speech. This was intimidation, and in some cases physical violence.'
'We see this deeply seeded in our society and it's something that we have to stand up against with complete moral clarity,' he later said.
The state also grieved after a gunman killed 11 people during Shabbat morning services in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. The shooting anniversary was where Fetterman said he and McCormick met for the first time.
'From the Tree of Life massacre down the road from where we live, to Boulder yesterday, D.C. the week before, and so many more horrific accounts,' Fetterman said in a post online. 'We both see the way antisemitism has impacted communities across Pennsylvania, the country and the world—and we must call it out.'
While the two senators agree that antisemitism is wrong and should be stopped, they didn't point to concrete ways to reduce it across the country, Bream told her fellow Fox News hosts after the panel.
However, they did share support for Israel in its offensive against Hamas, and for securing the country's southern border, among other issues.
Matt Sandgren, the executive director of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, said the Senate Project works to prove Hatch's belief that the Senate works best when lawmakers can disagree respectfully.
'The Senate Project continues to prove that principle can thrive even in these divided times,' Sandgren said in a statement, noting the foundation was thankful to the senators for 'showing that serious, respectful debate still has a place in American politics.'
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