Sen. Fetterman takes off Harvard University hood during commencement speech, gets standing ovation

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., received a standing ovation after ripping off his Harvard University academic hood during his commencement speech at Yeshiva University in New York.

"I have been profoundly disappointed [in] Harvard’s inability to stand up for the Jewish community after Oct. 7,” Fetterman, 54, said at the commencement on Wednesday. "Personally, I do not fundamentally believe that it is right for me to wear this today."

Fetterman, who has been critical of pro-Palestine encampments on college campuses, addressed his outspoken pro-Israel views. 

"There's nothing brave about what I'm doing. It's actually been very easy, for lack of a better word, because of what they did on October 7," he said. "I'm not a soldier in Gaza. I'm not an innocent Palestinian caught in the middle of this. I'm just a senator, and I have my position and my voice, and that's just been with Israel."

According to posts on social media, he received a standing ovation after removing the hood.