Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to nominate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate over the only Jewish candidate under consideration, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, immediately sparked speculation that the governor had been dumped because of his pro-Israel politics.
According to a CBS News report, Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, former President Trump’s running mate, told reporters about the selection, “This is a man who listened to the Hamas wing of his own party in choosing his nominee.”
The comments came amid widespread backlash in some quarters over the choice of Waltz over Shapiro, leading to speculation that he was chosen to appease the far-left wing of the Democratic Party, who are seen as hostile to Israel.
“The far-left online are attacking Josh Shapiro’s pro-Israel stance in a different way than they would attack the stance of a non-Jewish vice presidential candidate, but they’re just indicting themselves,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) told CNN on Monday.
Walz waited until the end of the legislative session to call for the resignation of Democratic lawmakers accused of theft.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke at a press conference in St. Paul on January 26, 2021. (Anthony Souffre/Star Tribune via The Associated Press, File)
“There’s a strong streak of anti-Semitism there,” he continued, “and that’s unacceptable. Every candidate’s positions on policy issues, their record in elected office, all of that is fair game. Harris will rightly be subject to questioning and questioning by her campaign and observers, but to hold him to a different standard because of his religion is not who we are as a Democratic Party.”
Shapiro’s defense comes as some Israeli supporters have grown increasingly concerned in recent months that Harris has begun to take a different stance from President Biden on support for the Jewish state, arguing that she has begun to adopt a more sympathetic view toward a faction of the Democratic Party that has signaled support for the Palestinians amid Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
Harris has maintained her view that Israel has the right to defend itself and has repeatedly condemned the October terrorist attack on the Jewish state, but she became the first administration official to call for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
Harris also vowed last month ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “not be silent” about the suffering of the people in Gaza, comments that some saw as a continuing sign of a change in the president’s tone.
Walz has taken a similar approach to Harris, sometimes expressing support for Israel while also expressing sympathy for the plight of the people in Gaza.
Vice President Harris picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as running mate
“While there are contradictory claims that Israel has a right to defend its country and that the atrocities of October 7 are unacceptable, Palestinian civilians must no longer be dragged into this,” Waltz said during an appearance on Minnesota Public Radio in March, according to Al Jazeera.
Waltz has also consistently maintained that Israel has a right to exist, telling the Jewish Community Relations Council earlier this year that “the ability of the Jewish people to self-determine itself is fundamental.”
“Failing to recognise the state of Israel is taking away its right to self-determination – that’s anti-Semitism,” he said.
Gov. Tim Walz arrives to attend a press conference on gun control legislation at City Hall in Bloomington, Minnesota on August 1, 2024. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The Minnesota governor was quick to condemn the Oct. 7 terror attack against Israel, claiming that those who carried out the attack showed a “total lack of humanity.”
“This is not a geopolitical debate. This is murder,” Waltz said, according to a report by The Times of Israel.
He also urged members of his party to take seriously the concerns of Jewish students, following a spate of anti-Israel demonstrations on American college campuses in the spring.
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“If Jewish students are saying that it makes them feel uneasy, I think we need to believe them, and I believe them,” Waltz said during an appearance on PBS. “It’s one thing to create a space for political dissent and political rallies. It’s another thing to be intimidated.”
Democratic Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz (Glenn Stubb/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
According to USA Today, Walz was a vocal supporter of Israel while he served in Congress from 2007 to 2019, voting with Israel on multiple occasions, including condemning UN resolutions that deemed Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal.
But Walz also indicated his support for Israel is not unlimited, warning about the same settlements during a 2009 diplomatic tour of the Middle East, arguing they undermine the prospects for peace.
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Like Harris, the Minnesota governor called for a ceasefire in the conflict in March, when he praised Democrats who voted independent in the state’s primary following protests in Michigan over the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza conflict.
