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Kamala Harris Passing on Josh Shapiro for VP Cost Her Jewish Support, Exit Poll Shows
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) holds a rally in support of US Vice President Kamala Harris’ Democratic presidential election campaign in Ambler, Pennsylvania, US, July 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski
US Vice President Kamala Harris’s failed presidential bid could have received more support from Jewish voters had the Democratic nominee selected Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate, an exit poll revealed.
Had Harris picked Shapiro — a popular moderate who is also Jewish — instead of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), she would have won Jewish voters in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania by a margin of 53 percent to 38 percent, according to a survey conducted by the Honan Strategy Group for the Teach Coalition, an affiliate of the Jewish Orthodox Union. The Harris-Walz ticket ultimately won Jewish voters within the Keystone State by a narrower margin of 48 percent to 41 percent.
The exit poll was first reported by The New York Post earlier this week.
Over the course of her ill-fated campaign, Harris had been dogged by accusations of being both soft on antisemitism and an unreliable ally of Israel. The polling results suggest that selecting Shapiro, a vocal defender of the Jewish state, would have helped bolster some of her support among Jewish citizens.
Harris’s decision to bypass Shapiro for the vice-presidential nomination elicited surprise, outrage, and even accusations of antisemitism. Many observers perceived Shapiro, a popular governor with charismatic oratory skills, to be a strong choice to compliment Harris on the presidential ticket.
However, Shapiro’s repeated passionate defenses of the Jewish state and repudiation of anti-Israel protesters infuriated many within the far-left flank of the Democratic Party. In an interview with CNN, Shapiro condemned anti-Israel college campus protesters, saying that such demonstrations would be met with fierce backlash “if this were people dressed up in KKK outfits or KKK regalia.” Shapiro has also backed a Pennsylvania bill that would “financially penalize the government of Israel or commercial financial activity in Israel.”
In the days following Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel ;ast Oct. 7, Shapiro, a practicing Jew, issued statements condemning the Palestinian terrorist group and gave a speech at a local synagogue. The governor also ordered the US and Pennsylvania Commonwealth flags to fly at half mast outside the state capitol to honor the victims.
Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, now the president-elect, pounced on Harris’s snub of Shapiro, suggesting that she blocked the Pennsylvania governor from the ticket because he is Jewish. Trump argued that Shapiro could anger Muslim voters in critical swing states such as Michigan, especially with a heightened focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid the war in Gaza. However, Shapiro defended Harris, claiming that antisemitism had nothing to do with his failed bid to become the Democratic nominee for vice president.
Some commentators suggested that Harris passed over Shapiro because she was worried about his ambition, a lack of chemistry, and the possibility of the governor overshadowing her.
The post Kamala Harris Passing on Josh Shapiro for VP Cost Her Jewish Support, Exit Poll Shows first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.