Josh and Joe and Doug
In his new book, released this week, “Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro reexamines in great detail what the process was like when he was being vetted as Kamala Harris’ potential running mate in last year’s presidential election.
Joe Lieberman
Credit David
All along, many people believed that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was chosen by Harris and her team instead of Governor Shapiro because Shapiro is Jewish and an outspoken supporter of Israel. Now we know even more about that experience, as Shapiro reveals in his book that he was asked by a Harris representative if he—Shapiro—was an agent of Israel.
It is shocking and absurd, and seems to indicate that a Jewish political official like Governor Shapiro can never escape suspicion that as a Jew, his support for Israel might supersede his ability to decide what is best for the U.S., if such a decision could even minimally affect the Jewish state negatively.
With this revelation, one has to wonder how an Orthodox Jewish Senator like Joe Lieberman could be picked to run against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in 2000.
It’s possible that back then, the public might have been satisfied with competence, honesty, and achievement rather than this obsession with wokeness and plain, old-fashioned Jew-hatred as is fashionable today.
Shapiro says in his book that he was asked if he had ever communicated with an Israeli undercover intelligence agent. His response was classic: How could he possibly know if an Israeli was a secret agent?
It is unnerving and disturbing that a distinguished governor like Josh Shapiro is instantly suspected of dual loyalties if he’s a candidate for high office. Instead, Harris settled on supreme ineptness by selecting the Minnesota governor who’s currently on his way to being charged with high level fraud and financial crimes. Walz has already announced that he will not seek re-election because of all the criminal suspicions. Of course, things could have been worse for him—he could have been Jewish.
So, what about our New York Senator Chuck Schumer? There’s hardly a time when his name is mentioned when they don’t add that he’s the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the country. Schumer even wrote a book about antisemitism last year, as if he’s an expert on the subject by virtue of his Jewishness. Possibly because of his Jewishness, Schumer is careful not to be seen as too supportive of Israel lest he be accused of having dual loyalties.
In the Josh Shapiro situation, the Keystone State governor goes out of his way not to sound too supportive of Israel. In fact, he makes it a point to criticize Prime Minister Netanyahu, who will go down in history as Israel’s greatest leader. But it’s odd and the height of absurdity that Shapiro has to be careful about his support for Israel because he’s a Jew.
Douglas Emhoff is Jewish and he came close to being the first male equivalent of a “First Lady,” or what became known as the First Gentleman. Luckily, we missed that one and no one even uttered a peep about Emhoff being pro-Israel. Perhaps because the best way to characterize Emhoff’s position on Israel is, “couldn’t care less.” So, America doesn’t really have a Jewish problem, the Democrats do. On the right, there is Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, but they do not have real political positions; they are just Jew-haters in search of online clicks and ad revenue. For the most part, the Republicans in Congress are pro-Israel and anti-Hamas. Today, in 2026, Josh Shapiro should be able to run for President and also support Israel if he so desires. I’m in support of his running for President in 2028—and of course losing.
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
