Democratic Sen. John Fetterman Calls Out Pro-Palestinian Student Protesters

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) called out pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, calling them as “pup tents” for the militant group Hamas. 

A “pup tent” is a tent used by soldiers during war. It is speculated that the name originated from the Civil War when the tent was called the “dog house,” then evolved into “pup tents.” 

The protests across college campuses are calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War and demanding that the U.S. stop sending military aid to Israel. Many of these students set up tents and camps in the name of these protests, against school policies and administrators’ wishes. 

“Now, of course, it’s a great American value to protest, but I don’t believe living in a pup tent for Hamas is helpful,” Fetterman told The Hill. “I will say this, that it’s very clear, there is a very germ of antisemitism in all of these protests. And then sometimes, it flares up and again.” 

Fetterman reacted to one student protest leader at Columbia University, stating, “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and that people should “be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.” Last week, the university banned the student. The student claimed that the comments were taken out of context. 

“And then he defended himself by saying, ‘Well, those were taken out of context,'” Fetterman said. “And I’m like, ‘Well, that’s very similar to the way that college presidents …’ that same kind of language and those kinds of monocultures that create situations and that replicates. And it’s no surprise that when you’re kind of seeing this manifest in a campus like this.”

While most protests have been peaceful, there has been an increase in antisemitism in the country since the October 7 attacks from Hamas. 

Recently, Fetterman called Democratic anti-Israel protestors “crazy” in an interview.