Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to choose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate instead of Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, the only Jewish candidate under consideration, sparked immediate speculation that the swing state governor was sidelined because of his pro-Israel politics.
“This is a person who listened to the Hamas wing of his own party in selecting a candidate,” former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, told reporters in reaction to the pick, according to a CBS News report.
The comment comes amid a strong backlash to Walz’s choice over Shapiro in some quarters, with many speculating that the pick was made to appease the far-left wing of the Democratic Party that some see as hostile to Israel.
“Those on the excessively online left who are attacking Josh Shapiro’s pro-Israel positions in a different way than they attack the positions of non-Jewish vice presidential candidates are simply giving themselves away,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., told CNN on Monday.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a news conference on Jan. 26, 2021, in St. Paul. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP, File)
“There’s a strong anti-Semitic undertone to all of that,” he continued. “It’s unacceptable. Each contender’s positions on every policy issue, their record in elected office, all of that is fair game. That’s totally open to questioning and interrogation by Harris’ team and observers, but holding her to a different standard because of her religion is just not who we are in the Democratic Party.”
Shapiro’s defense comes as some supporters of Israel have grown increasingly concerned in recent months that Harris has begun to take a different position than President Biden on support for the Jewish state, claiming that the vice president has begun to take a more sympathetic view toward the faction of the Democratic Party that has shown support for the Palestinians amid Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
While Harris continued to say Israel has the right to defend itself and repeatedly condemned the October terror attacks on the Jewish state, she became the first administration official to call for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
Harris also vowed to “not remain silent” about the suffering of Gazans ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, comments that some took as a continued sign of a shift in position by the president.
Walz has taken a similar approach to Harris, at times expressing support for Israel while also expressing sympathy for the plight of Gazans.
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“You can argue the opposite: that Israel has a right to defend itself and that the atrocities of October 7 are unacceptable, but for Palestinian civilians to be caught up in this… it has to stop,” Walz said during an appearance on Minnesota Public Radio in March, according to an Al Jazeera report.
Walz has also consistently argued 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 is fundamental.”
“Not recognising the State of Israel is depriving it of its self-determination, which is why it is anti-Semitic,” he said.
Governor Tim Walz arrives to speak at a news conference on gun legislation at City Hall on August 1, 2024, in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Minnesota’s governor was quick to condemn the October 7 terror attack on Israel, arguing that those who carried out the attack showed “an utter lack of humanity.”
“That’s not a geopolitical discussion. That’s murder,” Walz said, according to a report by the Times of Israel.
He also urged members of his own party to take the concerns of Jewish students seriously amid a wave of anti-Israel demonstrations on American college campuses in the spring.
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“I think when Jewish students tell us they don’t feel safe in that environment, we have to believe them, and I believe them,” Walz said during an appearance on PBS. “Creating a space where there can be political dissent or political demonstrations is one thing. Intimidation is another.”
Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
According to a USA Today report, Walz also expressed support for Israel while serving in Congress between 2007 and 2019, voting with Israel several times, including a vote to condemn the United Nations resolution that declared Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal.
But Walz also showed that his support for Israel is not unlimited, warning the country about those same settlements during a diplomatic tour of the Middle East in 2009, arguing that they damaged prospects for peace.
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Like Harris, the Minnesota governor called for a ceasefire in the conflict in March. That same month, he praised Democrats who voted uncommitted during the state’s primary, following a movement that began in Michigan to protest the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza conflict.
