Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., scolded what he called the "overly online left" for attacking Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro over his Jewish faith and support for Israel.
Shapiro, who is considered to be a top contender to be Kamala Harris' running mate, was forced to defend his stance on Israel after an op-ed he penned more than three decades ago resurfaced over the weekend.
His support for Israel has been controversial inside the Democratic Party due to the strong anti-Israel views of the party's far-left flank. Those who oppose his candidacy launched the "No Genocide Josh" campaign and continue to pressure Harris to pick another running mate.
In an appearance on CNN Monday, Auchincloss rebuked the far-left wing of his party for applying a different standard to Shapiro than they have to other vice presidential contenders, arguing that there is a "strong undercurrent of antisemitism" to their attacks.
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"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," Auchincloss, who is Jewish, said on "CNN This Morning."
"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."
Auchincloss isn't the only Jewish congressional Democrat who has said that criticism of Shapiro is unfair and assumes that Jewish politicians cannot be objective on Israel.
Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio told Axios, "I think there is that sense that somehow we're not objective [on Israel] because we're Jewish, which is just not true or fair. There are a lot of members who are pro-Israel who have been protested against — I think as Jews it feels particularly intense and personal."
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The op-ed, written by Shapiro as a 20-year-old college student, detailed his time volunteering on an IDF base in high school and included his belief that "Palestinians will not peacefully coexist," because "they do not have the capabilities to establish their own homelands and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States."
Shapiro’s spokesman Manuel Bonder told Fox News Digital in a statement, "Since he wrote this piece as a 20-year-old student, Gov. Shapiro has built close, meaningful, informative relationships with many Muslim-American, Arab-American, Palestinian Christian, and Jewish community leaders all across Pennsylvania.
"The Governor greatly values their perspectives and the experiences he has learned from over the years – and as a result, as with many issues, his views on the Middle East have evolved into the position he holds today," Bonder continued.
Bonder pushed back on the idea that the newspaper op-ed, written decades ago, provides any indication of the governor’s current thinking regarding Israel.
"As the Governor has made clear for years, he supports a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live together peacefully – and he believes it is critical for leaders on both sides of this conflict to take meaningful, necessary steps towards a lasting peace," Bonder stressed.
"Governor Shapiro has worked hard to bring people together, listen, and keep our communities safe and heard – and he will always be a Governor for all Pennsylvanians," Bonder added.
Shapiro took a fierce stance against antisemitism following the October 7 massacre which sparked campus protests nationwide. When members of the Philly Palestine Coalition protested outside Israeli-owned businesses in December, Shapiro admonished them for what he called a "blatant act of antisemitism- not a peaceful protest.
"This hate and bigotry is reminiscent of a dark time in history," he wrote on X at the time.
He also supported Israel's right to defend itself while acknowledging the increasing death toll in Gaza."
"We can’t forget the genesis of this, but we also can’t ignore the death and the destruction that’s occurred in Gaza," he told the Washington Post in March.
He also demanded the removal of a student encampment at the University of Pennsylvania and supported a bill that would financially discipline colleges for boycotting or divesting from Israel, WHYY reported.
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Harris is expected to announce her vice presidential pick at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
