Josh Shapiro May Have Been Too Pro-Israel — and Too Jewish — for Democrats

Vice President Kamala Harris passed over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) as her running mate Tuesday for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) — confirming fears Shapiro would prove too pro-Israel, and too Jewish, for the ticket.

In the week leading up to the pick, as Shapiro emerged as the frontrunner, there were reports of internal rebellions within the Democratic Party, largely due to his strong pro-Israel views, which included skepticism of peace talks.

In a year when Democrats have struggled to contain anti-Israel — and antisemitic — sentiments within the left-wing base of their party, suspicion began to emerge that prejudice was the real reason for the objections to Shapiro.

One observer noted: “On paper, the choice for VP should be obvious. Shapiro is a very popular governor of a key swing state with very similar views as the other leading VP contenders. But he also happens to be Jewish. That’s all the current campaign is motivated by. It’s emphasizing that a large portion of the Dem base has a serious antisemitism problem.

The problem became so severe that Democratic Jewish lawmakers began speaking out, via Axios:

A campaign to scuttle Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as a Democratic vice presidential prospect, largely over his support for Israel, is facing pushback from Jewish members of Congress across the political spectrum.

…

The uniquely fierce opposition to Shapiro — who is Jewish and whose views on Israel are similar to other potential VP candidates — is an all-too-familiar dynamic for some Jewish lawmakers.

“I think there is that sense that somehow we’re not objective [on Israel] because we’re Jewish, which is just not true or fair,” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) told Axios.

NBC reported:

Eight months later, this vocal segment of the Democratic electorate is closely scrutinizing Shapiro’s record on issues related to Israel, as the Pennsylvania governor emerges as a top contender to serve as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. And it’s become the centerpiece of the left’s case against adding him to the ticket.

The intense scrutiny is the latest chapter in a long-running saga between factions of the Democratic Party who have backed President Joe Biden’s approach to the war in Gaza and those who have staunchly opposed it. It also has rekindled a parallel fight over the rise of antisemitism at home as Shapiro, an observant Jew, has faced deeper skepticism over Israel than other leading contenders who have espoused similar views.

Some Democrats openly accused Shapiro’s opponents of antisemitism. As Fox News reported earlier this week:

Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., scolded what he called the “overly online left” for attacking Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro over his Jewish faith and support for Israel.

…

“Those in the overly online left who are attacking Josh Shapiro’s pro-Israel positions in a different way than they are attacking non-Jewish veep contenders’ positions, they’re just telling on themselves,” Auchincloss, who is Jewish, said on “CNN This Morning.”

“There is a strong undercurrent of antisemitism to that,” he continued. “It’s unacceptable. Every contender’s positions on all policy issues, their track records in elected office, all of that is fair game. That is totally open to be subjected to interrogation and to questioning by the Harris team, by observers, but holding him to a different standard because of his religion just simply isn’t who we are in the Democratic Party.”

Shapiro, perhaps in a desperate bid to save his candidacy, tried to disavow some of his long-standing views on Israel:

Harris may have had other reasons for choosing Walz over Shapiro. However, Minnesota is not typically a swing state, whereas Pennsylvania is expected to be one of the key battlegrounds heading into the November election.
Harris may have felt insulated against claims of antisemitism since her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, is Jewish — though he embraced his identity belatedly, and has hardly been strident in defending Israel from critics.

Ultimately, Harris appears to have decided against risking a split between the left-wing, anti-Israel base and the Democratic Party establishment. Shapiro was perhaps too pro-Israel, and too Jewish, for her to add him to the ticket.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.