Reports that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro may be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate have already sparked a backlash from the political left, adding to concerns that he may be too moderate — and too Jewish — for the current Democratic Party.
Activists with ties to groups like the Democratic Socialists of America and the Anti-American Israel Public Affairs Committee have launched the No Genocide Josh website, urging Harris not to pick Shapiro. The site is hosted on Wix, an Israeli software company.
One key issue is Shapiro’s treatment of anti-Israel — and sometimes antisemitic — protesters on Pennsylvania campuses. At one point during the protests, Shapiro called for the University of Pennsylvania to disband the encampments on campus “to restore order and safety on campus.”
“[Shapiro] was unique among the top VP picks in his willingness to deploy the National Guard on peaceful protestors. He even went as far as to compare peaceful university protestors to KKK ralliers,” a spokesperson for the No Genocide Josh effort told DVJournal.
While Shapiro, who is Jewish, pushed college campuses to guarantee the safety and security of students, there is no evidence that he expressed willingness to send in the National Guard.
He criticized some of the anti-Israel protests that popped up on university campuses after Hamas attacked Israel last fall.
Shapiro told CNN “there should be no place” for antisemitic or Islamophobic comments. But he also said university administrators must avoid “setting any kind of double standard” at schools.
“We have to query whether or not we would tolerate this, if this were people dressed up in KKK outfits or KKK regalia making comments about people who are African-American in our communities,” said Shapiro.
That’s enough for the No Genocide Josh group and like-minded progressives, many of whom are upset by what they see as Shapiro’s pro-Israel politics.
An article by David Klion at The New Republic, a progressive magazine, castigated Shapiro as “being egregiously bad on Palestine.” Klion added Shapiro seemed to have “animus against pro-Palestine activism” that he found troubling.
“Selecting a vice presidential nominee with anti-Palestinian and pro-war views will depress turnout among Muslim, Arab-American, and young voters, and greatly reduce the excitement that comes with a new nominee,” wrote No Genocide Josh organizers on their website.
The campaign highlights the split within the Democratic Party over its policy towards Israel and Palestine, both nationally and in the Keystone State.
Shapiro called himself a Zionist earlier this year but said he disagreed with the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is an avowed Israel supporter. He’s taunted anti-Israeli protesters both in person and online. Netanyahu praised Fetterman for his moral clarity and courage during a meeting in Jerusalem last month.
This week, Fetterman angered progressives by attending Netanyahu’s speech before Congress while wearing a suit (and Israel blue tie) instead of his usual sweat and shorts.
Other Pennsylvania Democrats, including Delaware Valley Reps. Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan, boycotted the Netanyahu speech.
The No Genocide Shapiro effort has identified other issues it sees as problematic for Shapiro, such as his willingness to support a school choice program in Pennsylvania. It has also raised the issue of Shapiro’s close, longtime political ally Michael Vereb being forced out of his position in the administration over allegations by a female former deputy secretary that he subjected her to unwanted sexual conversations.
“No one on the left expects Kamala Harris to be perfect, but there are already reasons to think she could be an improvement. If she picks Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate, all of that hope will evaporate,” according to The New Republic.
Recent polls show Harris trails Republican Donald Trump by two points in Pennsylvania, an issue that Cook Political Report’s Jessica Taylor says Shapiro could address.
“From a pure numbers standpoint, Shapiro makes the most sense. It’s nearly impossible to plot out a path to victory for any Democrat without the Keystone State’s 19 electoral votes. Among the swing states up for grabs, it’s the biggest Electoral College prize,” Taylor wrote Friday.
Shapiro’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
