How John Fetterman’s outspoken support for Israel won him supporters on the right and critics on the left

(JTA) — Mehdi Hasan, the prominent journalist and pro-Palestinian commentator, summed up the feelings of many progressives in January when he posted, “A lot of folks don’t recognize John Fetterman these days.”

Hasan was responding to a statement by Fetterman criticizing anti-Israel activism at Harvard University. It was the latest in a string of comments and actions since Oct. 7 that have made the Pennsylvania Democratic senator one of the most vocal supporters of Israel in Washington — and one of the most surprising.

When he entered office last year, the…