3 staffers resign over Democratic senator’s pro-Israel stance

Fetterman has received criticism over his support for Israel from his fellow Democrats.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has received criticism from members of his own party over his ardent pro-Israel stance, and recently, three of his communications staffers have resigned over his position on the war in Gaza.

Joe Calvello, who was Fetterman’s Director of Communications during the 2022 campaign and while Fetterman was in the Senate, resigned in early March.

Nicholas Gavio, Fetterman’s Deputy Communications Director, announced in an X post on Friday that he was leaving his position.

The Pennsylvania Senator’s Press and Digital Aide Emma Mustion, who also worked on Fetterman’s campaign in 2022, announced she was resigning and to start working for Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey.

Fetterman, who once identified as a progressive and was a supporter of Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, has distanced himself from the Squad and announced that he no longer considered himself a progressive in April 2022.

Fetterman told The Jewish Insider in 2022, “Whenever I’m in a situation to be called on to take up the cause of strengthening and enhancing the security of Israel or deepening our relationship between the United States and Israel, I’m going to lean in.”

Following October 7th, Fetterman released a statement that said, “We now know this was a wide-scale, premeditated, cowardly, terrorist campaign against Israeli civilians that also claimed the lives of American citizens.”

“I unequivocally support any necessary military, intelligence, and humanitarian aid to Israel. The United States has a moral obligation to be in lockstep with our ally as they confront this threat,” he continued.

“I also fully support Israel neutralizing the terrorists responsible for this barbarism,” he concluded.

At the same time, just a few weeks after Hamas’s massacre of Israelis, Senator Fetterman’s staff was finding ways to distance themselves from his pro-Israel stance.

Cavello posted on X a screenshot of an office email detailing policies on posting on social media material that didn’t align with Fetterman’s positions.

“However, if you want to sign onto something that is entirely anonymous – including NOT identifying you as a Fetterman staffer in any way – that is in bounds if you so choose,” the email from October 20th read.

“The distinction here is that you cannot use your status as a current Fetterman staffer to undermine John’s position or otherwise make a public statement that is inconsistent with John’s views.”

When CNN‘s Jake Tapper asked Fetterman about criticism of his pro-Israel position in January, he responded, “I don’t understand why it’s controversial to anybody to decide that you’re going to stand with Israel in this situation.”

Democratic partyJohn FettermanPro-Israel advocacy