Why Josh Shapiro couldn't impress Kamala Harris to be her VP pick

Josh Shapiro, a protege of the former President Barack Obama and governor of swing state Pennsylvania, made headlines the past few days with many speculating him to be the potential Vice Presidential candidate from Democratic Party.

But presidential candidate Kamala Harris instead picked Tim Walz, who is the governor of another swing state Minnesota.

As Harris was prepared to announce her running mate on Tuesday in an event in Philadelphia, a city in Pennsylvania, commentators and sources close to Democratic Party power circles speculated that Shapiro, known as a strong supporter of Israel, might have had an insider advantage over Walz, thanks to his connections to Obama. But that did not materialise into a political reality.

If Shapiro was handpicked by Harris as her running mate and if the latter emerged as the winner of US elections in November, he would have become the first Jewish vice president in US history, with Harris becoming the first woman to lead the country.

As Harris chose Tim Waltz, Shapiro stands no chance now. Previously, Joe Lieberman, a Jewish-American lawmaker and another big supporter of Israel, was also Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore’s VP pick. Gore lost the 2000 election to George W. Bush, scuttling Lieberman’s chances to become the country’s first Jewish vice president.

John Fetterman, a Democrat senator from Pennsylvania, who worked with the governor in different positions, found Shapiro’s fast rise in the echelons of political power structures a worrying aspect. Some US media reports suggest that he recently advised Harris to be careful of Shapiro's “personal ambitions”.

Shapiro has also been criticised for being slow on his handling of alleged sexual harassment involving his longtime ally and former top aide.

Shapiro’s involvement in Ellen Greenberg’s death in 2011 has been another unwanted spotlight on his political tenure. Greenberg’s death was first ruled as a homicide linked to his fiancee, Samuel Goldberg, but then it was ruled as a suicide and Shapiro backed the last ruling when he worked for Pennslyvania’s attorney general office. Critics pointed out Shapiro’s connections to the Goldberg family, alleging conflict of interests.

Israel connections

Shapiro, 51, was born in Missouri to a Jewish family. As a young Jewish man, he spent a considerable amount of time in Israel volunteering for the country’s military. He once described it as "a service project".

On the other hand, his competitor Walz, who eventually prevailed over Shapiro, had served in the US army for more than two decades.

Trained as a lawyer, Shapiro’s connections to Israel are not limited to his stay in the Zionist state, which has been engaged in a genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, according to many analysts and human rights groups.

In 1993, Shapiro wrote an article, Peace not Possible, when he was a student majoring in political science in University of Rochester. Centred around the Israel-Palestine conflict, the piece concluded on a pessimistic note, saying both sides can never reach a solution and peace “will never come”.

Turning a blind eye to Israel’s illegal occupation of the Holy Land and perpetual wars and land grabs the Zionist state has imposed on Palestinians since 1947, Shapiro conveniently pinned the blame on Palestinians, faulting them for causing turbulence in the Middle East.

“Palestinians will not coexist peacefully. They do not have the capabilities to establish their own homeland and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States,” wrote Shapiro.

In 1996, after graduating from college, Shapiro began his professional life in the public affairs department of the Israel embassy in Washington DC. Later, he worked in the Capitol Hill, advising respective representatives and senators. He also attended Georgetown University’s Law School, eventually becoming a corporate lawyer.

In 2004, he became a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and kept his seat until 2010, winning back-to-back elections. In 2011, Shapiro offered a lot of praise to Netanyahu, finding his UN speech "one of the finest, fact-based speeches ever", opposing any Palestinian statehood because Palestinians are “battle-minded”, not being “able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own."

But in January, after Israel has received so much criticism for its conduct of the Gaza war, which has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children, Shapiro began showing willingness to revise some of his pro-Israeli stances.

“I personally believe Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the worst leaders of all time,” he told reporters, urging Israel to adopt “immediate two-state solution” in the wake of the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza.

But he has remained committed to Israel with his other stances, ranging from his opposition to the Palestinian resistance to the anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) stance, which has gone to great lengths during his different political roles in Pennsylvania.

The BDS is an expanding worldwide movement, which urges global citizens and states to pressure Israel with economic means.

During anti-Israeli protests raging across American campuses, he has not shied away from expressing his loyalty to Israel. He condemned student demonstrations and adopted various pressure tactics to restrict them from spreading further.

Most recently, the Pennsylvania governor issued a controversial new code of conduct for state employees barring them from conducting “scandalous or disgraceful” behaviour, which could lead them to lose their jobs.

Many pro-Palestinian groups see this new vague revision a countermeasurement against their criticism toward Israel, which is clearly different from the pro-Isreeli governor, who volunteered for the Israeli military in the past.