"He's Jewish..."

[lapucelle]

Who’s Afraid of Josh Shapiro?

The Pennsylvania governor called Benjamin Netanyahu “one of the worst leaders of all time.” But anti-Israel activists don’t want him on the Democratic ticket.

A politician designed in a lab to help Democrats win pivotal Rust Belt swing states would probably look a lot like Josh Shapiro. In 2016, when Donald Trump won Pennsylvania by less than 1 percent of the vote, Shapiro was elected attorney general by nearly 3 percent. In 2020, when Joe Biden won the state by one point, Shapiro won reelection by more than four points. And in 2022, the Democrat took the governorship by a whopping 15 percent.

Today, Shapiro’s favorability in Pennsylvania stands at a commanding 61 percent, far outstripping Kamala Harris’s 49 percent in the state. Leaks from the Republican camp suggest that party strategists see the governor as one of their most formidable potential adversaries in a presidential campaign. There’s just one problem.

“He’s Jewish,” CNN’s John King noted last week, so “there could be some risk in putting him on the ticket.” In fact, Shapiro might be the most visibly Jewish elected official in America: He keeps kosher, has weekly Shabbat dinner with his family, and even quotes Jewish scripture in his political speeches. The sole race he ever lost was for student-body president at his Jewish day school.

Events have borne out King’s concern. Today, Shapiro is the only veep contender subject to an organized campaign to capsize his prospective nomination. Put together by hard-left congressional staffers and members of Democratic Socialists of America, among others, the push is ostensibly about Shapiro’s support for Israel. “Tell Kamala and the Democrats now,” reads the site NoGenocideJosh.com, “say no to Genocide Josh Shapiro for Vice President.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/07/josh-shapiro-netanyahu-jewish-vp/679300/

[JohnSJ]

1. The antisemitism by some on the left is just as bad as on the right, but insidiously more subtle.

[whathehell]

3. Being against Netanyahu and his policy in Gaza

does not equate to "anti-semitism".

Many Jewish people, Senator Bernie Sanders among them, hold that position.

[JohnSJ]

4. I didn't even mention what is going on in Israel and Gaza. I am

talking about the antisemitism that exists and is ignored when it occurs on the left.

Such as subtle phrases “it’s all about the Benjamin’s”, or Nina Turner blaming her loss on “Jewish money”, ignoring the fact that she received more money than Brown, or the former leaders of the women’s march having no problem with Lewis Farikam, but a group of Jewish women displaying the Star of David, that’s forbidden.

[whathehell]

7. No, but the OP did,

his source describing the motive of the protesters as being "obstensibly" about the Gaza War, implying that reason to be suspect.

[JohnSJ]

11. When some of the protesters actually display signs saying "hitler was right",

or other anti-Jewish slogans, along with signs applauding what happened on October 7th, with defacing Jewish property, etc., those are examples of blatant antisemitism among some of those protesters

In other words, the motives of some of those protesters is not as simple as some think.

I hope it doesn’t happen, but I suspect we will see some of that on display during the Chicago convention.

[whathehell]

16. Yes, one could hardly disagree with that

It's blatant, nauseating anti-semitism. I just don't know how many of these there are/were and would seriously question they're being "representative" of the American Left. As I'm sure you're aware, MANY Jewish people are protesting Bibi and his war in Gaza.

[lapucelle]

5. It's anti-Semitism against Josh Shapiro who is being signaled out and targeted

for having (more or less) the same stance as every other contender for the VP slot.

Today, Shapiro is the only veep contender subject to an organized campaign to capsize his prospective nomination. Put together by hard-left congressional staffers and members of Democratic Socialists of America, among others, the push is ostensibly about Shapiro’s support for Israel. “Tell Kamala and the Democrats now,” reads the site NoGenocideJosh.com, “say no to Genocide Josh Shapiro for Vice President.”

Anti-Israel partisans have every right to advocate against candidates who oppose their cause, and there’s nothing inherently anti-Semitic about doing so. But as its name implies, the “Genocide Josh” campaign is not about applying a single standard on Palestine to all VP contenders; it’s about applying them to one person, who just so happens to be the only Jew on the shortlist. And to make matters more absurd, Shapiro’s positions on Israel don’t come close to fitting the epithet.

“I personally believe Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the worst leaders of all time,” Shapiro told reporters in January, months before Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the Israeli leader to resign. At the time, Shapiro also pressed for an “immediate two-state solution,” something Netanyahu and his hard-right government stridently oppose. The anti-Shapiro campaign ignores these remarks but makes much of the governor’s comparison of campus Gaza protesters to “people dressed up in KKK outfits.” When he said that in an interview, however, Shapiro was distinguishing between bigoted extremists—such as the Columbia campus-protest leader who called for killing “Zionists”—and peaceful demonstrators, about whom the governor has said, “It’s right for young people to righteously protest and question.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/07/josh-shapiro-netanyahu-jewish-vp/679300/

[whathehell]

10. Weren't they calling Joe Biden "Genocide Joe"?

Not sure if that was this group, in particular, but I know I heard or saw it somewhere.
That aside, it does seem, judging by the article, that they ARE being unfair to Shapiro, and it may well be anti- semitism.
I certainly hope not. I like the guy and think he could be a strong candidate.

[lapucelle]

12. There was a GenocideJoe.com website? N/T

[whathehell]

15. I don't know if there was a website..

but I heard the moniker.

[whathehell]

18. I just googled "Genocide Joe" and found

30 references/articles on the term.

[lapucelle]

19. Did you find any genocide references for VP hopefuls Beshear, Kelly, or Walz?

[whathehell]

22. Given that I was looking for "Genocide Joe", I did not

[JohnSJ]

14. Not only every VP candidate, but also the same as our nominee for President.

She made it clear over a week ago when she voiced disdain for those protesters who burned the American flag and pushed Hamas slogans, and called for a ceasefire, release of all hostages, that Israel has a right to defend itself, and called for a two state solution. In other words the same views as the Biden administration, and the VP contenders.

I would not be surprised if some of these same folks using a litmus test for Governor Shapiro, will use some derogatory terms which border on antisemitism at the Chicago convention.

[Behind the Aegis]

25. I would count on anti-Semitism being on display outside the convention.

I also count on those defending it, excusing it, or "playing dumb".

Also in breaking news: the sun will rise in the east and set in the west; and water is wet.

[JohnSJ]

26. I sincerely hope not BTA, but suspect you speculation is correct.

[question everything]

2. I think that the objection is his support of Israel during the war

[lapucelle]

13. Why single him out then?

Now consider the other vice-presidential contenders. Arizona’s Senator Mark Kelly leads the Democratic-nominee prediction markets along with Shapiro. Like the Pennsylvania governor, Kelly also supported using police to break up campus encampments. “Everybody has the right to protest peacefully,” he said, “but when it turns into unlawful acts—we’ve seen this in a number of colleges and universities, including here in Arizona—it’s appropriate for the police to step in.” In the same interview, Kelly said that the Israelis “have to do a better job” reducing civilian casualties in Gaza, but drew on his military experience to explain the difficulty of that task, and emphasized that “Hamas, without question, is the biggest impediment to peace in the Middle East.” Last week, Kelly attended Netanyahu’s address to Congress and applauded.

Unlike Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper didn’t simply enforce preexisting state laws against boycotts of Israel while in office—he signed one himself in 2017. This month, Cooper codified into state law a definition of anti-Semitism that has been adopted by many countries around the world, but that left-wing critics argue penalizes speech critical of Israel. Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, flew state flags at half-mast after October 7 and did not respond to activists who called on the state to divest from Israel. Some were arrested after protesting outside his residence.

That all of these politicians support Israel should not come as a surprise. After all, Harris is searching for a moderate to help her win swing voters in states that are currently polling in the Trump column. Although some Democrats have grown more critical of Israel, Americans back the country by a two-to-one margin and oppose the recent campus protests, which means that any VP nominee considered by Harris would likely share such views.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/07/josh-shapiro-netanyahu-jewish-vp/679300/

[CTyankee]

6. If he is, I hope Kamala has a "chat" with him about tuition tax credits.

She has other great choices!

[elleng]

8. Obviously tuition queestions are HERS to address,

NOT that of a VEEP.

[AZLD4Candidate]

30. from the musical 1776 when they are debating the Declaration of Independence

"No where in your document do you mention deep sea fishing rights!"

[CTyankee]

31. Is this in response to the reference of "tuition tax credits"?

If so, I'm happy to have the discussion!

[elleng]

9. Didn't take too long, eh?

[lapucelle]

20. No indeed,. N/T

[Behind the Aegis]

17. Short video

[elleng]

21. This/these approaches seem 'pretzel-like' to me.

[Behind the Aegis]

24. I am sure they do.

[elleng]

23. and so is her husband! (Jewish, that is.)

Interesting times, about which I'm somewhat concerned.

[RandySF]

27. I don't recall King expressing a similar concern about Lieberman.

[RandySF]

28. I don't recall King expressing a similar concern about Lieberman.

[lapucelle]

29. Those were very different times.

John King, BTW, converted to Judaism when he married Dana Bash.