Sen. Fetterman’s support of Iran war is a betrayal of our votes for him

Last Friday, we joined more than 150 Philadelphians to call on Sen. John Fetterman to withdraw his support for the illegal, immoral, and illogical war in Iran.

Not only did we both vote for the senator, we campaigned for him, too, encouraging our families, friends, and neighbors to trust us and vote for someone who promised to support peace, justice, and human rights above all else.

But Fetterman has turned his back on his promises — and on his constituents — by continuously supporting Israel’s assault on Gaza, and now, the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran. He was the only Democrat to vote against the War Powers Act, which would have curbed President Donald Trump’s power to launch a war without Congress’ approval.

Fetterman was the sole Democrat who did not sign the letter demanding answers from the Department of Defense in the wake of American airstrikes on a school in Minab, Iran, that killed over 100 children. As a result, for those with family in Iran, we continue to not know whether our innocent relatives are alive or dead, murdered by our own government with our money, in our name.

We practice different religions — one of us is Jewish, the other Muslim — and our families come from different parts of the world, but we have both chosen Philadelphia as our home. While some may pit us as enemies, we have much more in common than what others would like us to believe.

Our shared humanity is what binds us: our love for our families, our communities, and our home of Philadelphia. When we see children killed, whether it’s in our neighborhood or 6,000 miles away, our hearts break.

Safety should not be determined by where you fall on a map.

Right now, our country is spending nearly $1 billion per day on Operation Epic Fury. Some of this money went to leveling the school in Minab. This is happening while the Philadelphia School District plans to close nearly 20 schools, almost 10 years after closing 30 others.

This war is the most unpopular one in our country’s history, and the money spent on it could be used for so many other things: namely, to improve the lives of children all across the U.S. by making sure every young person is safe and has food, a home, and a great public school to attend.

Even in the richest country in the world, these things are sadly not guaranteed.

We are constantly told that there’s not enough money to fix our schools, to house everyone, to fix our crumbling infrastructure, to provide people with healthcare, or to pay workers what they deserve, but there’s always endless money for global violence.

War and its gigantic price tag are a perversion of our country’s stated priorities, and for religious people, an affront to God and the world He has created. In both Islam and Judaism, children are seen as divine gifts, miracles who are born free of any amount of sin. And yet children in Gaza, Iran, and here in Philadelphia are forced to suffer due to circumstances that are no fault of their own.

Being born in “the wrong place” like Gaza or Tehran — or even in a city like Philadelphia with a 20% poverty rate — should not condemn a child to a life of violence. It certainly should not kill them while they are sleeping or trying to learn at school.

Safety should not be determined by where you fall on a map.

Fetterman has talked about his support for “America First” policies. How does championing a war that Congress has not authorized, that has already cost $12 billion, and that the majority of Americans disapprove of, put our country and its families first?

Every dollar that has been diverted by Fetterman from Philadelphia schools, housing, healthcare, and wages for this illegal and immoral war is transformed into a missile targeting a school, hospital, or home.

For every hospital barely functioning in Philadelphia, at least 13 have been bombed in Iran. If he wants to support working people and their children in Pennsylvania, we have plenty of ideas for him, including fighting for more school funding for Philadelphia’s students.

Robert Zayd KiaNouri-Zigmund is Iranian American, a member of CAIR-Philadelphia, and works at the AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies. Mindy Isser works in the labor movement, is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, and is the mother of a 3-year-old.