Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice to faucet Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her working mate elicited blended reactions from Jewish organizations.
“This is similar man who famously mentioned, ‘One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.’ Seriously?” read a X post by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) on Tuesday.
The post came after Harris’ extremely anticipated choice, selecting Walz after weeks of hypothesis about a number of potential candidates.
Harris’ choice reportedly got here right down to Walz and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a well-liked governor of a swing state very important to the vice chairman’s probability of rising with 270 electoral votes in November.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to reporters after a gathering with President Biden on the White Home on July 3, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures)
However Harris’ choice to choose Walz over Shapiro, the one Jewish candidate into account, additionally introduced widespread hypothesis that the vice chairman was pressured by members of the Democratic Celebration extra sympathetic to Palestinians as Israel’s battle in Gaza continues. Others scolded the “No Genocide Josh” marketing campaign to stress Harris, arguing that the resistance to the Pennsylvania governor had an “undercurrent of antisemitism.”
“Those in the overly online left who are attacking Josh Shapiro’s pro-Israel positions in a different way than they are attacking non-Jewish veep contenders’ positions, they’re just telling on themselves,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., informed CNN Monday.
“There is a strong undercurrent of antisemitism to that,” he continued. “It’s unacceptable. Every contender’s positions on all policy issues, their track records in elected office, all of that is fair game. That is totally open to be subjected to interrogation and to questioning by the Harris team, by observers, but holding him to a different standard because of his religion just simply isn’t who we are in the Democratic Party.”
Harris’ alternative of Shapiro has additionally come as some supporters of Israel have fearful that the vice chairman’s help of the Jewish state has waned in latest months, noting that she was the primary administration official to name for an “immediate cease-fire” in Gaza and her reportedly rocky relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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The RJC assertion additionally hinted at these fears, declaring that Harris’ alternative of Walz is of “particular concern for the American Jewish community” due to his “embrace of” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., whom the RJC has referred to as “the most vicious anti-Israel and antisemitic Member of Congress.”
“This is the same disgraceful Ilhan Omar who has trafficked antisemitic conspiracy theories, falsely accused Israel of genocide and apartheid, and voted against funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system that is currently protecting countless innocent civilians in Israel from terrorist rockets,” the RJC mentioned.
Rep. Ilhan Omar has been referred to as “the most vicious anti-Israel and antisemitic Member of Congress.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc through Getty Pictures)
However different Jewish organizations had a extra optimistic tackle the Harris choice, with the Jewish Democratic Council for America (JDCA) praising the choose.
“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz align with the vast majority of Jewish voters on every key issue, and we’re confident that overwhelming support from Jewish American voters will make the difference in ensuring their victory in November,” JDCA CEO Halie Soifer mentioned in a press launch.
“Vice President Harris has made an exceptional choice by selecting Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. We deeply admire Gov. Walz’s impassioned defense of our values, including reproductive rights and defending our democracy, especially as they both are under attack by MAGA Republicans led by Donald Trump,” added JDCA Chair Ron Klein. “Having been elected at the same time and served in Congress with Tim Walz, I can attest to the fact that Tim. Walz has taken on Republican extremists before and won, and we’re confident that he and Vice President Harris will do so again this November with the strong support of Jewish American voters.”
The transfer was additionally lauded by Bend the Arc: Jewish Motion, a corporation that describes itself as “building a multiracial, multiethnic, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies all across the country who are rising up to build an American future free from white supremacy, antisemitism, and racism.”
Gov. Tim Walz arrives to talk at a press convention on Aug. 1, 2024, in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Pictures)
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“By choosing Walz, a Governor who broke records investing in public education, infrastructure, paid leave, free college and cutting childhood and elder poverty, Harris sent a clear message to voters: we confront those threatening our safety and freedom for an economy of fear and division with those who invested in them for a care economy,” Bend the Arc CEO Jamie Beran mentioned in a press launch.
The Harris marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to a Fox Information Digital request for remark.
