Democrat slams left’s ‘strong anti-Semitic undercurrent’ in attacks on potential vice presidential nominee Shapiro

Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a Massachusetts Democrat, chastised what he called the “overly connected left” for attacking Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro because of his Jewish faith and support for Israel.

Shapiro, considered a leading contender for Kamala Harris’s vice presidential nomination, was forced to defend his position on Israel after an op-ed he wrote more than three decades ago resurfaced over the weekend.

Her support for Israel has been controversial within the Democratic Party because of the party’s strong anti-Israel stances on the left wing. Those opposed to her candidacy have launched the “No Genocide Josh” campaign and continue to pressure Harris to choose another running mate.

During an appearance on CNN on Monday, Auchincloss criticized the far-left wing of his party for applying a different standard to Shapiro than it does to other vice presidential candidates, saying there is a “strong undercurrent of anti-Semitism” in their attacks.

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“Those on the very connected left who attack Josh Shapiro’s pro-Israel positions in a different way than they attack the positions of non-Jewish candidates for vice president are only exposing themselves,” Auchincloss, who is Jewish, said on “CNN This Morning.”

“There’s a strong undercurrent of anti-Semitism in all of this,” he continued. “It’s unacceptable. Every candidate’s positions on every policy issue, their track record as elected officials, all of that is legitimate. All of that can be subject to questioning and interrogation by Harris’ team, by observers, but to hold him to a different standard because of his religion is just not who we are in the Democratic Party.”

Auchincloss is not the only Jewish Democrat in Congress to say criticism of Shapiro is unfair and to assume that Jewish politicians cannot be objective about Israel.

Ohio Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman told Axios: “I think there’s a sense that we’re biased (on Israel) because we’re Jewish, which is not true and it’s not fair. There are a lot of members who are pro-Israel and who have been the subject of protests. I think as Jews, that’s a particularly intense and personal feeling.”

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The op-ed, written by Shapiro while he was a college student, details his time as a volunteer on an IDF base in high school and includes his belief that “Palestinians will not coexist peacefully” because “they lack the capacity to establish their own homelands and succeed, even with the help of Israel and the United States.”

Shapiro’s spokesperson Manuel Bonder told Fox News Digital in a statement: “Since writing that article as a 20-year-old college student, Governor Shapiro has built deep, meaningful and informative relationships with many leaders in the Muslim-American, Arab-American, Palestinian-Christian and Jewish communities throughout Pennsylvania.

“The Governor places great importance on their perspectives and the experiences he has learned over the years. Therefore, as with many issues, his views on the Middle East “They’ve evolved into the position he’s in today,” Bonder continued.

Bonder rejected the idea that the newspaper’s editorial, written decades ago, provides any indication of the governor’s current thinking about Israel.

“As the governor has made clear for years, he supports a two-state solution “A world where Israelis and Palestinians can live together in peace – and he believes it is essential that leaders on both sides of this conflict take meaningful and necessary steps toward lasting peace,” Bonder said.

“Governor Shapiro has worked hard to bring people together, listen to them, and keep our communities safe and heard – and he will always be a governor for all Pennsylvanians,” Bonder added.

Shapiro took a strong stance against anti-Semitism after the October 7 massacre sparked campus protests across the country. When members of the Philly Palestine Coalition demonstrated outside Israeli-owned businesses in December, Shapiro chastised them for what he called “a blatant act of anti-Semitism, not peaceful protest.”

“This hatred and bigotry is reminiscent of a dark period in history,” he wrote on X at the time.

He also supported Israel’s right to defend itself while acknowledging the growing death toll in Gaza.

“We cannot forget the genesis of all this, but we cannot ignore the death and destruction that has taken place in Gaza either,” he said. told the Washington Post in March.

He also demanded the dismantling of a student encampment at the University of Pennsylvania and supported a bill that would financially penalize universities that boycott or divest from Israel. WHYY reported.

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Harris is expected to announce her vice presidential pick at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday.