A “ghoul” who “cheers Hamas” were some of the choice words Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) hurled at Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine, who is challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) for her seat.

In a conversation with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee at the global annual forum of the AJC in Washington Tuesday, Fetterman blasted Platner for his Nazi sympathies and antisemitic bent.

“We’re old enough to remember that if somebody had a Nazi tattoo, they’re a Nazi sympathizer,” Fetterman said, referring to the Totenkopf (death’s head) tattoo Platner sported until recently, when he had it inked over with a Celtic symbol as a result of the backlash. “But now that’s OK. People will defend that, or they’ll just kind of explain that away.”

Fetterman pointed to Platner as an example of someone who gained political prominence as a result of his opposition to Israel and cited his past comments as disqualifying.

“This is the guy that was absolutely cheering Hamas,” the Pennsylvania senator said. “There was a video that Hamas put online where they go and beat and torture IDF soldiers, and he said, ‘I dig it.'”

“What kind of ghoul lurks on the internet back in 2014 celebrating that kind of barbarity?” he continued. “Well, that’s the kind of guy that would have that kind of tattoo.”

Fetterman expressed his disappointment in his party and in candidates who are running on an expressly anti-Israel platform, saying that he had predicted this turn away from Israel and had decided ahead of time that he would remain true to his principles no matter the consequences.

“I’m a student of history, and what history has consistently demonstrated is that people and society will turn their back on the Jewish community when they’re under siege,” Fetterman said.

“In my party as a Democrat, I early on assumed that this was going to happen, and I announced to all of them, ‘I plan to be the last man standing,’” he said.

“If it isolates me, then so be it,” he said. “It’s been the easiest choice I’ve ever made here in my political career.”

The senator is not up for reelection until 2028, but his popularity within his party has sunk due to his position on Israel, and he is currently polling more favorably among Republicans, with a 22% approval rate among Democrats versus a 73% approval rate among Republicans.