Last Friday night, as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was lighting the Shabbat candles, he was the clear and obvious favorite to be tapped as Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate. But that was not to be. And on Tuesday, it sure looks like that is because he was a little too Jewish.
Yes, the vice-presidential nomination passed over Shapiro as if he had lamb’s blood painted over his door, landing instead on Midwest Protestant Tim Walz -- an anodyne pick less likely to offend those who hate Israel or for that matter Jews.
In the lead up to the snub of Shapiro, which Harris chose to commit in his hometown of Philadelphia, many voices in and around the party, both Jewish and not, warned that this choice of Walz would smack of obvious and odious antisemitism.
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First, John King, and then several additional anchors on CNN, expressed concern that Shapiro’s views on Israel were being singled out. This was happening even though they hardly differed from any other potential V.P. candidate. Still, his status as a practicing Jew could prove disqualifying for some progressive voters.
These concerns were echoed throughout social media by Jewish celebrities and activists, including the extremely liberal actor Josh Malina, who wrote "Shapiro's views on Israel are in line with the other VP contenders. Shapiro, however, is...well, Jewish. This feels like unforced anitsemitism, Cynthia," in response to far-left actor Cynthia Nixon on X.
Even some Democrats currently in office agreed.
"The Anti-Israel activists who have been falsely accusing the Biden-Harris Administration of funding ‘genocide’ are suddenly fine with Vice President Harris, as long as she declines to choose Governor Shapiro as a running mate," New York Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres said on X, adding, "These hypocrites are full of s--- and their antisemitic dog whistling should be given no veto power over the selection of a presidential running mate."
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Where, by the way, is his fellow New Yorker and most powerful Jew in Washington, Sen. Chuck Schumer on all of this? Honestly, since the horrendous Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, it's as if the Senate minority leader has resigned, or gone into hiding.
Needless to say, now that Shapiro’s vice-presidential dreams have burned out like the last candle on Hanukkah, most on the left will forget all about their outrage. Just as many have forgotten how outraged they were over the potential ouster of Joe Biden from the ticket.
It all just gets memory holed and we move on. At least that is what they hope, but there is a problem, which is that Republicans have noticed this antisemitism, too.
On Tuesday, just hours before the announcement, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance took to the radio airwaves in an interview with Hugh Hewitt and said, "They will have not picked Shapiro frankly because of antisemitism in their own caucus, in their own party... The far left doesn't like the fact that he is a Jewish American."
The senator from Ohio is not without evidence in advancing this claim, as we saw in the spring when many Democrats, such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her band of girl boss communists fawned all over antisemitic college occupiers who threatened and harassed Jewish students.
We saw this bigotry when Minnesota Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar, who openly lobbied for Walz against Shapiro, said that all Jews care about is the "Benjamins."
Were there other reasons that Harris might have opted against Shapiro? Yes. Perhaps he may have more gravitas than she does. Walz is popular but not overshadowing. He’s more like a sitcom dad, but the timing is everything here.
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It was not until Shapiro seemed to be a lock for Harris’ running mate that these concerns about his Jewishness popped up and that his record on Israel was thrust in the spotlight, even though it mirrors everyone on the short list and even Kamala Harris herself.
It is almost impossible to believe that Shapiro, a popular governor in the most key battleground state in the entire nation, would have been denied this rich political prize if his last name was Smith, or, well, Harris.
In the early 20th century, there was division between long-established, well-assimilated and educated Jews and the newcomers from the shtetls of Eastern Europe with their foreign garb and loud, obvious religious observance.
I can remember my great-grandmother, fully of the fancier faction, sometimes shaking her head when discussing the newcomers and muttering, "too Jewish."
The Democrats now face a similar issue. It is fine to be a Jew in the party if that means you like Woody Allen movies, eat Chinese food on Christmas and get all the references on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." But the candle lighting, and the bread? Do that only in the privacy of your own home.
This year the Democratic Party hung a sign on the door to the vice presidency saying, "Jews Need Not Apply" – at least not those who are obvious about, and proud of, their religious faith.
It is a dark and ugly reality, but one we must stay focused on. Because when antisemitism takes root, it is a fast-growing and very dangerous weed that spreads when good people look away.
