'I am proud of my faith': Josh Shapiro embraces Jewish identity at rally for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

(JTA) — Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor, Josh Shapiro, hasn’t had the easiest week when it comes to, well, being Jewish.

So, when it came to speaking publicly about Vice President Kamala Harris and the man she chose over him to be her own running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Shapiro had a point he wanted to make.

“I lean on my family and I lean on my faith which calls me to serve,” Shapiro said at a rally Tuesday in his hometown, Philadelphia. “And I am proud of my faith!”

Shapiro was among the top two or three contenders that Harris, the Democrats’ nominee for president, was considering as a running mate. For the last week or so, Shapiro faced an online campaign from some progressives to keep him off the ticket because of his longstanding pro-Israel views.

The campaign drew criticism from across the political spectrum for singling out Shapiro, even though the non-Jews Harris was reportedly considering were as pronounced in their support for Israel — if not more so — than Shapiro.

Once it was leaked on Tuesday morning that Walz was her pick, Republicans claimed (and some Jewish voters worried) that Harris was caving to antisemites. Harris’ campaign said those accusations were “offensive.”

Others, including Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate, lamented that Shapiro had been forced to “run” from his Jewish heritage.

Shapiro and Harris both spoke of their close friendship, which dates to the middle of the last decade when they were both attorneys general — Shapiro for Pennsylvania and Harris for California — and collaborated on lawsuits.

“Josh is a dear, dear friend and an extraordinary leader,” Harris said as soon as she took the stage following Shapiro. “I am so invested in our friendship and doing this together because together with Josh Shapiro we will win Pennsylvania, we will win Pennsylvania, and I thank you Josh, I thank you.”

Shapiro went on to quote, as he frequently does, an adage from Pirkei Avot, an ancient code of Jewish ethics. He had quoted it earlier in the day in a statement on Walz’s selection.

“Now, hear me, I’m not here to preach, y’all, but I want to tell you what my faith teaches me,” Shapiro said. “What does it say? My faith teaches me that no one, no one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free to refrain from it. That means that each of us has a responsibility to get off the sidelines, to get in the game and to do our part.”