Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) drew his first declared challenger Monday, and critics wasted no time taunting the controversial Democrat over what they saw as the newcomer’s fitting backstory.
“Hey [Fetterman], you oaf, you're done,” wrote Tariq Kenney-Shawa, a Palestinian-American writer and political analyst.
Fetterman has become a pariah among Democrats after repeatedly siding with Republicans on various issues, including immigration enforcement, the U.S. war against Iran and Israel’s ongoing military bombardment of Gaza. His unwavering support for Israel in particular has alienated many Democratic voters, a fault line that makes his new challenger’s background all the more pointed.
That challenger, first reported on by The Philadelphia Inquirer, is Ahmed Moor, a Gaza-born Philadelphian who holds what the outlet described as a “polar-opposite view on [Fetterman’s] top issue.”
“We need to do away with the idea that Israel is a place where Jews have superior rights relative to Palestinians,” Moor told the Inquirer. “That is not consistent with my values as an American. I think it’s also a recipe for endless conflict. As Americans, we’re deeply implicated in Israeli apartheid. We fund it. We sustain it. We protect it.”
Conversely, Fetterman has declared that there should be “no conditions for Israel” in its “war against Hamas,” vowed that he “can’t imagine” ever changing that stance, and called the claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza “appalling,” despite a United Nations commission and countless human rights groups having declared it one.
“John Fetterman has his first primary challenger. It’s a total outsider candidate, a Palestinian American born in Gaza calling for accountability for ICE crimes and war crimes,” noted journalist Alex Kane of Jewish Currents, a progressive Jewish magazine.
In a statement published on social media, Moor said he was running to “end the war in Iran” and on an agenda to establish “free health care, free childcare and affordable housing” for all Americans.
“I'm THRILLED that Ahmed just announced his candidacy for the US Senate in PA. He'll be running against Israel-first Senator John Fetterman,” wrote civil liberties attorney Jenin Younes, president and legal director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
“Ahmed's integrity, intelligence, and commitment to the Bill of Rights made a strong impression on me. Though he is running as a Democrat, he hasn't hesitated to criticize the DNC for embracing civil liberties violative policies and for their interventionist foreign policy.”
Ahmed Moor, a Gaza-born Palestinian American writer and businessman, launched a 2028 Democratic primary challenge Monday against Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, one of Israel's most fervent backers in Congress. Moor, 42, of West Philadelphia, calls Israel's assault on Gaza a genocide that killed members of his family. He wants to end US military aid to Israel and impose sanctions modeled on the 1986 law that targeted apartheid South Africa until Palestinians have equal rights.A DSA member, Moor is also running on ending the war on Iran, Medicare for All, free childcare and abolishing ICE. Fetterman hasn't said whether he'll seek a second term.🎥 In a December 2024 interview with Democracy Now, Moor spoke about his family in Gaza, including his cousin's 19-year-old son, whom an Israeli sniper killed in Rafah, and laid out the conditions needed for moving towards resolution in Palestine. He said settlements have made a Palestinian state impossible, Hamas is an ordinary Palestinian party that won't simply disappear, and any real negotiation has to move past Jewish supremacy in Palestine.
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