DV Journal

Pennsylvania is in play and may end up in the win column for former President Donald Trump.

When historians write the saga of why Vice President Kamala Harris failed in her presidential bid, they may attribute it to one fatal choice: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her VP pick.

When I watched Ohio Sen. JD Vance take apart Walz in the vice-presidential debate, I imagined the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, sparring with Vance.

Shapiro would have held his own against Vance and perhaps scored a few points.

So, why didn’t Harris pick Shapiro, a slam-dunk choice who enjoys immense popularity in a state that she needs to win?

The first reason underlines why Harris does no real interviews and can’t answer basic questions about solutions to inflation and the illegal immigrant crisis. Shapiro would upstage her. He is much better on his feet and has a much more commanding speaking style, not to mention a commanding grasp of the issues. People would wonder why he is not at the top of the ticket.

The second reason he wasn’t chosen intersects with the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel. Shapiro, who is Jewish, not only called out the horrors of the Oct. 7—horrific attacks by Hamas on Israelis—he pointed out the hatred and antisemitism on many college campuses protesting against Israel and told university officials to remove the encampments.

Shapiro forcefully and eloquently laid out the case against the haters.

Despite his political talents and the fact that he might have carried Pennsylvania for Harris, it seems clear that the far-left Democrats found his defense of Israel and Jewish college students abhorrent.

On the first anniversary of Oct. 7, the Anti-Defamation League released data indicating antisemitic attacks increased by 200 percent over the past year. And at least 1,200 of the 10,000 reported incidents occurred on college campuses.

I have found few, if any, messages from college and university presidents on the anniversary reminding people of the savagery of the original attacks and the fact that rape and torture were not acts of rogue outliers but the policy of Hamas when it massacred innocent Israelis.

The national office of The Council on American  Islamic Relations issued a statement that read, “ On the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks and the start of the genocide in Gaza, we reiterate our condemnation of such violence and demand that President Biden use American power to end this year-long disaster. It is long past time for President Biden to force Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a comprehensive ceasefire deal that ends Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” On the same day, Vice President Harris, in a “60 Minutes” interview, refused to say that President Netanyahu was an ally of the United States.

I visited Israel on a tour with 30 of my listeners, and I came away with a deep sense of Israel’s need for security. I support its need to continue to hunt down members of the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

But stopping Israel from rooting out Hamas in Gaza is where many in the Democratic Party have landed, and each week we get further away from the memory of Oct. 7, the more they will push for a ceasefire.

Amanda Greenberg, writing at Broad  + Liberty, makes the point many try to disguise as DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). She writes, “According to believers of DEI, Jews are “White” and are, therefore, oppressors.”

This oppressor-colonizer narrative that’s now taught in many schools plays into the ongoing criticism of Israel and is used ultimately to mitigate the appalling Oct. 7 attacks.

So, as we move past the first anniversary of Oct. 7, I contend that Josh Shapiro was not chosen as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate because of bias. The Democrats will see the result of that bias when Trump wins Pennsylvania and is once again president of the United States.

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On the one-year anniversary of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, a bipartisan group  gathered in Bala Cynwyd to talk about the rise of antisemitism in the U.S., the threat to the nation of Israel and — in their opinion — the need to return Donald Trump to the White House.

“President Trump was the most pro-Israel president in history and the most consequential president for [U.S.-Israel relations],” said Jeff Bartos, a former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

He was joined by Steve Rosenberg, a registered Democrat who is supporting Trump, and Center City restauranteur Yehuda Sichel, an independent.

Steve Rosenberg, Jeff Bartos and Yehuda Sichel

Sichel said that after the Hamas attack, he naively held a fundraiser to help the victims recover, only to find his restaurant on a list of businesses to boycott drafted by a pro-Palestinian organization.

The $3,000 he raised went to rebuild a playground in one of the border towns overrun by Hamas terrorists. It also drew demonstrators to his restaurant. “The chants and protests in front of Jewish restaurants started to happen, and the governor spoke out about it.”

However, some of the chefs he asked to help turned their backs on him.

“It made me feel unwelcome, very uncomfortable,” he said. In other times when there were tragedies, the chefs would raise money together, he said.

Rosenberg offered a blunt political assessment.

“As a Jew, if you do not support Donald Trump for president, you’re making a mistake with your future, with your lives,” he said. “You may have other issues — the climate, or abortion, or gun rights — I don’t care what your issue is. If you’re dead in four years, none of those issues are going to matter.”

Bartos used the event to recount Trump’s record in the Middle East.

“President Trump brokered the Abraham Accords, moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and in 2019 he signed an order extending the protections of Title XI to antisemitism on college campuses. Any of the lawsuits you’ve seen against colleges are made possible because of the Trump executive order.

“Contrast that with the Harris-Biden record, which is one of weakness and appeasement of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said Bartos.

Vice President Kamala Harris is surrounding herself with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish advisors, Rosenberg added, “some of the most awful Jew-haters on the planet.”

Pennsylvania elected officials participated in other Oct. 7 events throughout the day.

Democrats Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Bob Casey, and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis were on hand to open the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History for a tour of The Moment the Music Stood Still: The Nova Music Festival Exhibition alongside business leaders, elected officials, and leaders from various faith communities. he exhibition includes both interior and exterior installations aimed at memorializing the victims of the Hamas-led massacre, including personal belongings of festivalgoers, such as burned cars, bullet-riddled structures, and objects left behind by survivors of the attack at the Nova Music Festival.

“We are here to bear witness to the lives lost on that devastating day — a day that should have been filled with music and joy, as people were ambushed while dancing and singing with friends,” Shapiro said. “As we mourn the loss of so many innocent lives over the past year, Lori and I continue to pray for the return of the hostages, for an end to war, for peace in the Middle East, and for strength for all those who courageously combat terror, as well as for tolerance and understanding. ay their memories be a blessing.”

Asked to comment on the solemn day, Rabbi Matthew Abelson, a member of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis, said, “On the first anniversary of 10/7, the pain and grief is still raw, but the resilience of the Jewish community is the story of this past year. The meaning of Zionism has never been clearer. We must rely on each other and cannot hope that others will save or protect us. he year ahead will be challenging, too, but when we hang together, we cannot be defeated.”

At the Jewish Voices for Trump event, DVJournal asked Sichel if he would describe what he’s experienced — the attack on his restaurant business and the protests — as antisemitism.

“I would say ‘anti-Zionism,’ the right to have our homeland. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. I probably would not be here today if not for Israel.”

And, Sichel added, whatever the motive, the attacks on his business and others in the Jewish community have left them feeling isolated.

“I wish we would have had, on the local level, more strong leadership. s family members, as business owners, we did not have that. It felt like we were fending for ourselves. And it still feels like we’re fending for ourselves.

“I hope whoever becomes president will support the Jewish people.”

More than 1,000 people came to an evening service at Adath Israel in Lower Merion to pray, sing and remember those who died and the 101 people who remain hostages held by Hamas.

Amir Silber, regional director of the American Israeli Council said they had come together to cry, pray and support one another.

“Together we stay strong,” said Silber. “May the memory of those we lost inspire us.”

Rabbi Eric Yanoff said, “It so powerful to be together this evening, culminating an emotional day, an emotional year for us all.”

After Oct. 7, the Jewish community felt the pain of being alone, he said.

“People and institutions we thought were our allies and friends,” Yanoff said. “Which is why I hope tonight can be a tikkun, a correction, just by being together. Together Israelis and Americans, Jews of all backgrounds and people who are not Jewish who are our allies, all of us as humans, together tonight. Together may we find strength, together we can seek hope and together we can find our voice to demand of the world that we bring the hostages home.”

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