For a brief, hopeful moment, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro represented something rare in American politics: a pro-Israel Democrat who could speak clearly, confidently, and unapologetically about the moral stakes facing Israel and the West. 

Many Jews had hoped he would be a presidential candidate they’d want to vote for—not just because of the symbolic importance and pride that would come with having America’s first Jewish presidential nominee, but because he might be a voice of moral reason against the rising tide of antizionist madness and libels; a smart, tough, unapologetically Jewish candidate built for this moment. 

Instead, in his recent appearance on the All-In Podcast, we witnessed a politician promoting one of the most dangerous antizionist falsehoods in circulation today: the “Israel dragged America into war” libel. In doing so, Shapiro gave credence to the bigoted, centuries-old claim that Jews secretly control governments, manipulate wars, and pull strings from the shadows. That lie has fueled expulsions, pogroms, and mass violence long before it was repackaged as a Democratic Party talking point for the antizonist era. 

Shapiro, in discussion with the podcast’s hosts, falsely suggested Israel pressured the U.S. into striking Iran, ignoring the Islamist regime’s 47 years of terrorism, the incalculable amount of American blood on its hands, and President Trump’s stated aim of ensuring it never obtains a nuclear weapon. 

In essence, Shapiro gave us a verbal version of that racist New York Times cartoon depicting Benjamin Netanyahu as a guide dog wearing a Star of David collar, leading a yarmulke-clad........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)