Did Antisemitism influence Kamala Harris to snub Josh Shapiro as a VP pick?

Anti-Israel activists started a “No Genocide Josh” movement to pressure Kamala Harris not to choose Josh Shapiro as a running mate. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

With Tuesday’s announcement that the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz rather than Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, some have characterized the snubbing of Shapiro as motivated by antisemitism or at least caving to antisemites.

Josh Shapiro is governor of key swing state Pennsylvania and was considered by many to be the favorite in the shortlist of running mates for Kamala Harris.

Shapiro is vocal in his support for Israel, particularly in the war against Hamas following the October 7th invasion, and was highly critical of the mishandling of antisemitism on college campuses.

However, anti-Israel activists within the Democratic Party pressured Kamala Harris not to choose Shapiro as her running mate. They started a website called “No Genocide Josh” to protest the shortlisting of the governor.

Republican candidate Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, JD Vance, went as far as to say that not picking Shapiro would be an indication that Harris is antisemitic.

JD Vance said not choosing Shapiro “will be due to the antisemitism within their own caucus and party. It’s disgraceful that Democrats have reached a point where this is even an open conversation.”

Vance added that the left “doesn’t like the fact that he’s a Jewish American.”

The campaign of Kamala Harris, whose husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish, called Vance’s claim “absurd” and added it was “absolutely ridiculous and offensive.”

An official in the Harris campaign said, “Josh Shapiro is a fantastic leader, and he was almost chosen.”

They continued, “Tim Walz, throughout his career, has been incredibly strong in his commitment to protecting Israel.”

Kamala Harris received the endorsement of The Black Muslim Leadership Council, which did not endorse US President Joe Biden when he was still in the race because he supported Israel during its war with Hamas.

Salima Suswell, the founder and chief executive of the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund, said she felt Harris would be “more sympathetic to Gaza” than either Biden or Trump.

Suswell listed why Muslim voters should trust Harris, “During Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress, she decided not to attend. She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, and I believe she has also expressed empathy towards civilian life and has been very caring as it relates to getting aid to the people of Gaza.”

Van Jones of CNN posited that some anti-Jewish elements within the Democratic party might have scared Harris off from picking Shapiro because he is Jewish.

Jones said that Shapiro would have been the kind of pick that would “scare” the Trump campaign but added, “You also have antisemitism, which has gotten marbled into this party.”

He added, “You can be for the Palestinians without being an anti-Jewish bigot, but there are some anti-Jewish bigots out there. There is some disquiet now, and there must be about how much of what just happened is caving into these darker parts of the party. So that’s going to have to get worked out,” said Jones.

Last week, an essay Josh Shapiro wrote while a college student resurfaced with quotes critical of Palestinians.

In the Campus Times, Shapiro wrote an essay in 1995 in which he expressed the view that Palestinians will not peacefully coexist,” because “they do not have the capabilities to establish their own homelands and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States.”

He added, “They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own,” and said the Arab world was too divided and “belligerent.”

After the essay came to light, Shapiro’s spokesman Manuel Bonder told Fox News Digital in a statement,”Since he wrote this piece as a 20-year-old student, Gov. Shapiro has built close, meaningful, informative relationships with many Muslim-American, Arab-American, Palestinian Christian, and Jewish community leaders all across Pennsylvania.”

Bonder added, “The Governor greatly values their perspectives and the experiences he has learned from over the years – and as a result, as with many issues, his views on the Middle East have evolved into the position he holds today.”