Henry Jay Karp is the Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Emanuel in Davenport, Iowa, which he served from 1985 to 2017. He is the co-founder and co-convener of One Human Family QCA, a social justice organization.
I was dismayed to read that Republican Party of Iowa state chair Jeff Kaufmann called it “blatantly antisemitic” for Vice President Kamala Harris to choose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, instead of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
In my opinion, Jeff Kaufmann (who is not Jewish) is the last person qualified to pass judgement on what is and what isn’t an act of antisemitism.
First off, his denunciation of Walz’s selection displays a total ignorance of where Minnesota’s governor has stood on Israel and the Israeli-Hamas War. One look at Walz’s record on Israel would quickly reveal that his position is practically identical to that of Shapiro.
In fact, all three of the finalists for running mate (Walz, Shapiro, and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona) support Israel’s rights to exist and to defend itself against enemies seeking its destruction. All three supported police intervention during anti-Israel protests on some college campuses, when those protests were no longer peaceful but resorted to harassment and intimidation of Jewish students, as well as acts of violence and destruction.
If there was any antisemitism related to the VP selection, it wasn’t connected to the Harris vetting process. Rather, it came from those who didn’t just oppose Shapiro but branded him “Genocide Josh.” For these critics to target only Shapiro for his views on the conflict in Israel and Gaza, while remaining silent about the similar stances of Kelly and Walz, indicated that they were attacking Shapiro because he is a Jew.
If antisemitism had informed the selection process, Harris would never have included Shapiro among her final contenders.
Personally, I favored Shapiro, not because he is Jewish and a Zionist, but primarily because, with his 61 percent approval rating in Pennsylvania, he could deliver to the campaign his extremely important swing state. As for the others considered for the vice presidential slot, everyone on Harris’ long list, and even more so for those on her short list, would been an excellent choices.
When Harris chose Walz over Shapiro, whatever disappointment I experienced was overshadowed by my confidence that she chose the person who was the best fit for both the campaign and the office of vice president.
As for Kaufmann and his denunciations, I doubt he cares much about protecting the American Jewish community. Rather, he cares more about protecting the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. After cheering on the Iowa legislature’s passage of some despicable laws—including those that are racist or harm LGBTQ people, immigrants, reproductive rights, and public education—he has forfeited any credentials as a spokesperson for the rights of marginalized groups, or against hateful speech and acts in our state.