John Fetterman's Israel Rape Meme Sparks Fury: 'Disgusting'

John Fetterman has been harshly criticized on social media after sharing a meme where he mocked pro-Palestinian protesters who staged a demonstration outside of a Jewish-owned store in Philadelphia earlier this week.

On December 4, hundreds of protesters joined two pro-Palestinian rallies in Philadelphia asking for a ceasefire in Gaza. During the march, protesters gathered outside Goldie, a Jewish-owned restaurant serving hummus and falafel, chanting: "Goldie, Goldie, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide."

Fetterman, together with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, condemned the protest, calling it antisemitic.

"They could be protesting Hamas. They could be protesting Hamas' systematic rape of Israeli women and girls or demanding the remaining hostages be immediately released," Fetterman wrote on X, previously known as Twitter. "Instead, they targeted a Jewish restaurant. It's pathetic and rank antisemitism."

On December 7, The Philadelphia Enquirer reported that three Acme Markets in Lower Merion Township in Pennsylvania had "Boycott Israeli Goods" stickers placed over the Sabra hummus products. Sabra is owned by PepsiCo and the Strauss Group, an Israeli conglomerate that has come under scrutiny for its link to the Golani Brigade, part of Israel's military.

Fetterman shared the newspaper's article on X, posting a reaction meme of singer Drake showing disgust towards protesting "the rape of Israeli women + girls" but supporting protesting "hummus."

While Fetterman's unconventional and playful behavior was appreciated by his supporters during his Senate campaign, the meme shared by the Democratic senator angered both his critics and his supporters, who called the social media post "disgusting" and vowed not to vote for Fetterman again.

"Fetterman lost my respect weeks ago, but this is just disgusting. Rape victims are not your political pawn, and memeing their trauma is repugnant," one user wrote on X.

"Enough people will refuse to vote for Democrats like Fetterman even though that means Republicans will win," one user wrote on the social media platform. "This is simply too revolting. No sort of lesser of two evils rationalization will compel people to support Dems like this."

"I don't imagine being able to justify casting my own vote for him next time," said one user who said they had passionately supported Fetterman's bid for election last year.

Newsweek contacted Fetterman for comment by email on Friday.

It's not the first time that Fetterman has faced huge backlash from his supporters since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

The Pennsylvania senator has been unwavering in his support for Israel following the deadly attack, despite calls from his supporters to push for a ceasefire in Gaza as the civilian death toll on the Palestinian side started soaring.

"We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized," Fetterman wrote on X on October 18.

More than 17,000 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel's anti-Hamas campaign, as reported by the Associated Press, and 70 percent of them were women and children. Hamas militants killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, on October 7, according to AP figures.