Did Harris reject Gov. Shapiro because of the Jew-haters in his party?

To be sure, progressives lobbied hard against Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and are now celebrating a victory of bigotry over principle.

What role did Shapiro's Jewishness play in not being selected as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate? We'll never know the answer for sure, because we don't have access to the workings of Harris' mind. On paper, however, it seems clear to many that Shapiro was the obvious choice to help Harris' electoral prospects.

He is, after all, the most popular governor been important on the electoral map of the Democrats. He is more in the center than Harris, thus broadening his base and potentially attracting more independents and moderates. Many expert observers think that if Shapiro's name had been, say, Jim Shepard instead of Josh Shapiro, he would have been drafted.

However, awakened progressives mounted a campaign against him, focusing on his Zionism, his support for Israel and his opposition to some of the post-October. 7 protests In these respects, he was no different from other potential candidates, including Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. Indeed, in an effort to appease anti-Israel progressives, Shapiro went out of his way to overstate his criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu, calling him “One of the worst leaders of all time.”

No reasonable critic of Netanyahu would rank him with past leaders like Stalin, Castro and Arafat. Shapiro also appeared to apologize for his teenage activities on behalf of Israel, claiming that he was young. None of these attempts to pander to the hard left have worked.

Some defenders of the selection of Harris argue that it was the convention of Chicago, in which protests against Israel are expected. They believe that this problem would have been exacerbated by the selection of the Jewish vice-presidential candidate and that the selection of Walz will help silence these protests.

Whatever the precise reason or reasons, Shapiro's rejection was a victory for the anti-Israel and often anti-Jewish elements of the progressive left of the Democratic Party. It was a defeat for moderates who had hoped to broaden Harris' base of support.

In that sense, it was the mirror image of what many people believe to be former President Donald Trump's mistake in selecting Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate, instead of selecting someone closer to center that could attract the moderates who voted for the ex-South. Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley: Trump doubled down on his attempt to appeal to elements on the right of the Republican Party. The likelihood that this choice could hurt him in the general election did not seem to sway Trump.

Both candidates for the presidency have selected running mates who move them away from the center and closer to the most extreme elements of their parties. The big losers are the vast majority of Americans who are moderates and who support centrist policies.

The difference is the feeling among moderate Democrats that Shapiro's religion may have played a role in his rejection. For some, this would be a determining factor: they could not vote for a presidential candidate who gave in to the bigotry of they woke up progressives that he simply did not want to see a Jewish Zionist on the ticket. For those who suspect, but cannot be sure, that Shapiro's religious affiliation may have played a disqualifying role in his rejection, the issue is murkier, but still worrisome.

In any case, there can be no doubt that there are elements within the progressive left of the Democratic Party who did not want Shapiro to be the candidate precisely because he is considered a Jewish Zionist. Some of these progressives are simply Jew-haters. Others are Israel haters. They lobbied hard against Shapiro and now they're celebrating.

There is also no doubt that these voices had some influence on the decision to reject Shapiro. Precisely how much and what influence they had is subject to debate. What's also up for debate is how intolerant Democrats should assess the complexities that went into the decision to reject Shapiro.

It was a decision to reject Shapiro. Walz was selected, at least in part, because he is not Shapiro. He might be a good candidate and seems like a decent guy. However, he would not have stood a chance against an equally popular non-Jewish governor of Pennsylvania. This is the sad reality that decent voters must now face.

Alan DershowitzThe last book of “War on the Jews: how to end the barbarity of Hamas.” Stein is a former speaker of the New York City Council.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

(Featured Image Credit: Screenshot/CSPAN)

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

Latest messages from Alan M. Dershowitz (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.