Jewish leaders in New York are outraged that Josh Shapiro has been “smeared” in an “ugly anti-Semitic campaign” after Vice President Kamala Harris narrowed down her running mate field and ultimately rejected the Pennsylvania governor in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
They argued that Shapiro, who is Jewish, faced greater scrutiny and criticism than other candidates because he is pro-Israel.
“No one should ignore the fact that Governor Shapiro has been subjected to an ugly anti-Semitic campaign that has sought to delegitimize him,” said Mark Treyger, CEO of the New York Jewish Community Relations Council and a former Brooklyn city councilman.
“The vote of the Jewish community should not be taken for granted.”
Treyger, the son of Ukrainian Jewish refugees and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, said Shapiro had been unfairly targeted because of his position.
“There weren’t many policy differences between Josh Shapiro and the other candidates, yet he was specifically targeted and vilified,” Treyger said.
Maury Litwack“While we are thrilled with Walz’s election, we are also saddened by the blatant anti-Semitic campaign that has been waged against Shapiro,” said Shapiro, founder and CEO of the Teach Coalition, a group that advocates for Jewish voters.
Left-wing Democrats and critics of Israel have called Shapiro “Genocide Josh” for his support of Israel during the war with Hamas in Gaza. The Jacobins The headline read, “Josh Shapiro’s record on Palestine should disqualify him from being Vice President.”
Rabbi Joseph Potasnick, vice president of the New York Association of Rabbis, said rumors about Shapiro’s viability as a vice presidential candidate were “inappropriate commentary.”
“The fact that some people are debating whether a proud Jewish, pro-Israel candidate should be able to run is very unfortunate,” he said.
Harris’ campaign denied that it chose Waltz to criticize Shapiro and that his Jewish identity was a factor in the decision. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn) blasted the “blatant anti-Semitic campaign by some in the Democratic Party” against Shapiro, calling it “unacceptable and deplorable,” but assured Harris’ campaign that it did not influence her running mate.
Pro-Israel Republicans, including Jewish politicians, tried to turn Shapiro’s refusal into an election issue.
“Anti-Semitism is un-American. It would be wrong to reject Governor Shapiro because of his Jewish beliefs,” said Nassau County Mayor Bruce Blakeman, who is also Jewish.
“If Harris’ boycott of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress left any doubt about her contempt for Jews and Israel, Governor Shapiro’s removal from the running for vice president should remove those doubts. It is shameful for Kamala Harris to succumb to the extreme forces of anti-Semitism within her party,” he said.
But New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs accused Republicans of playing “dirty politics.”
“The fact that the vice president chose someone who is not a competent and capable governor from Pennsylvania, who is Jewish, does not justify the conclusion that it is because of his religion,” said Jacobs, who is Jewish.
“Does Donald Trump’s decision to ignore black Republican Tim Scott in choosing J.D. Vance as his running mate mean that he is biased or that he has ’caused’ to growing prejudice within the Republican Party? Nonsense!”
