A leftist professor posted a video of himself aggressively confronting Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) at a fundraiser at a suburban Pittsburgh bar over his support for Israel and then getting tossed out of the bar by a bouncer after getting in Fetterman’s face. Fetterman has been supportive of Israel since the October 7 massacre by Palestinians from Hamas-controlled Gaza and opposes a ceasefire.
The video shows Fetterman politely listening as the man, Dan Kovalik, confronts him for not supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, even as he is right up in Fetterman’s grill. A staffer tries to intervene but Kovalik gets amped up and argues back, saying, “I voted for him” and “This is a democracy”. The staffer agrees and backs off but Kovalik is wound up and keeps aggressively pushing his right hand in Fetterman’s space. Fetterman does not appear to say anything to the man. A bouncer intervenes and Kovalik tries to hand Fetterman a flier as the bouncer gives him the bum’s rush out the front door. Kovalik struggles to hold his ground but gets bull-rushed out the door and onto the sidewalk by the beefy bouncer (who not surprisingly is built and dressed like Fetterman in athletic shorts and hoodie.)
The tracker filming the confrontation for Kovalik tries to claim assault by the bouncer.
Kovalik cites a scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail in his caption for the video that he had filmed of his planned confrontation with Fetterman, “I just took on @JohnFetterman for his failure to support a ceasefire for #Gaza and was assaulted. Come see the violence inherent in the system.”
I just took on @JohnFetterman for his failure to support a ceasefire for #Gaza and was assaulted. Come see the violence inherent in the system. pic.twitter.com/QOTKHNAnfE
— Dan Kovalik (@danielmkovalik) October 29, 2023
“By the way, I had a paid ticket to this event with @JohnFetterman”
By the way, I had a paid ticket to this event with @JohnFetterman
— Dan Kovalik (@danielmkovalik) October 30, 2023
The fundraiser Fetterman was headlining was for Sara Innamorato, running for Allegheny County Executive, and was held at Shorty’s in West Homestead, PA.
Ben Kamens, comms director for Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) outed Kovalik as a war-mongering, Russia supporting hypocrite, “1. The person removing the guy berating @JohnFetterman is clearly a bouncer at the bar removing him legally as he would any other belligerent patron.2. Dan Kovalik doesn’t believe a single word he said, and is literally a Russian puppet who wrote the article below for @RT_com”:
1. The person removing the guy berating @JohnFetterman is clearly a bouncer at the bar removing him legally as he would any other belligerent patron.
2. Dan Kovalik doesn’t believe a single word he said, and is literally a Russian puppet who wrote the article below for @RT_com: https://t.co/z6gpyRXza9 pic.twitter.com/v7nw2hiYiH
— Ben Kamens (@BeeKamens) October 30, 2023
Fetterman’s statement on opposing a ceasefire in Gaza released October 18:
Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman on Wednesday released the following statement:
“Innocent Israelis were the victims of a terrorist attack that resulted in the largest loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust. Now we know that the tragedy at the Gaza hospital was not caused by Israel. I grieve for every innocent person and brave Israeli soldier killed since Hamas started this war. If not for the horrific attacks by Hamas terrorists, thousands of innocent Israelis and Palestinians would still be alive today.
“Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire. We must support Israel in their efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children. Hamas does not want peace, they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized.
“In the meantime, I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to quickly deliver the aid our ally Israel needs. This includes confirming ambassador-nominee Jack Lew as soon as possible.”
Fetterman posted the statement in sections on X Twitter the same day. The section rejecting calls for a ceasefire has over 6 million views:
Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire. We must support Israel in efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children.
Hamas does not want peace, they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized.
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) October 18, 2023
Daniel Kovalik is an American lawyer and Human Rights advocate who currently teaches International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He graduated from Columbia University School of Law in 1993. He then served as in-house counsel for the United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO (USW) until 2019. While with the USW, he worked on Alien Tort Claims Act cases against The Coca-Cola Company, Drummond and Occidental Petroleum – cases arising out of egregious human rights abuses in Colombia. The Christian Science Monitor, referring to his work defending Colombian unionists under threat of assassination, described Mr. Kovalik as “one of the most prominent defenders of Colombian workers in the United States.” Mr. Kovalik received the David W. Mills Mentoring Fellowship from Stanford University School of Law and was the recipient of the Project Censored Award for his article exposing the unprecedented killing of trade unionists in Colombia. He has written extensively on the issue of international human rights and U.S. foreign policy for the Huffington Post and Counterpunch and has lectured throughout the world on these subjects. He is the author of several books, including his most recent, “The Plot To Overthrow Venezuela, How The US Is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil,” which includes a Foreword by Oliver Stone.
The split in the Democratic Party between it’s traditional supporters of Israel and it’s growing pro-Hamas wing is flaring up one year from the November 2024 elections. Democrats are in a bind and appear poised to hemorrhage supporters regardless of how they try to thread the needle on the Hamas-Israel war.
