Midwest
Jewish organizations react to Harris’ Walz pick: ‘Far left nightmare’
Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to tap Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate elicited mixed reactions from Jewish organizations.
“This is the same guy who famously said, ‘One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.’ Seriously?” read a X post by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) on Tuesday.
The post came after Harris’ highly anticipated decision, choosing Walz after weeks of speculation about several potential candidates.
Harris’ decision reportedly came down to Walz and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a popular governor of a swing state vital to the vice president’s chance of emerging with 270 electoral votes in November.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to reporters after a meeting with President Biden at the White House on July 3, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
But Harris’ decision to pick Walz over Shapiro, the only Jewish candidate under consideration, also brought widespread speculation that the vice president was pressured by members of the Democratic Party more sympathetic to Palestinians as Israel’s war in Gaza continues. Others scolded the “No Genocide Josh” campaign to pressure Harris, arguing that the resistance to the Pennsylvania governor had an “undercurrent of antisemitism.”
“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,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., told CNN Monday.
“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.”
Harris’ choice of Shapiro has also come as some supporters of Israel have worried that the vice president’s support of the Jewish state has waned in recent months, noting that she was the first administration official to call for an “immediate cease-fire” in Gaza and her reportedly rocky relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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The RJC statement also hinted at those fears, pointing out that Harris’ choice of Walz is of “particular concern for the American Jewish community” because of his “embrace of” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., whom the RJC has called “the most vicious anti-Israel and antisemitic Member of Congress.”
“This is the same disgraceful Ilhan Omar who has trafficked antisemitic conspiracy theories, falsely accused Israel of genocide and apartheid, and voted against funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system that is currently protecting countless innocent civilians in Israel from terrorist rockets,” the RJC said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar has been called “the most vicious anti-Israel and antisemitic Member of Congress.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
But other Jewish organizations had a more optimistic take on the Harris selection, with the Jewish Democratic Council for America (JDCA) praising the pick.
“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz align with the vast majority of Jewish voters on every key issue, and we’re confident that overwhelming support from Jewish American voters will make the difference in ensuring their victory in November,” JDCA CEO Halie Soifer said in a press release.
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“Vice President Harris has made an exceptional choice by selecting Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. We deeply admire Gov. Walz’s impassioned defense of our values, including reproductive rights and defending our democracy, especially as they both are under attack by MAGA Republicans led by Donald Trump,” added JDCA Chair Ron Klein. “Having been elected at the same time and served in Congress with Tim Walz, I can attest to the fact that Tim. Walz has taken on Republican extremists before and won, and we’re confident that he and Vice President Harris will do so again this November with the strong support of Jewish American voters.”
The move was also lauded by Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, an organization that describes itself as “building a multiracial, multiethnic, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies all across the country who are rising up to build an American future free from white supremacy, antisemitism, and racism.”
Gov. Tim Walz arrives to speak at a press conference on Aug. 1, 2024, in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
“By choosing Walz, a Governor who broke records investing in public education, infrastructure, paid leave, free college and cutting childhood and elder poverty, Harris sent a clear message to voters: we confront those threatening our safety and freedom for an economy of fear and division with those who invested in them for a care economy,” Bend the Arc CEO Jamie Beran said in a press release.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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Along with marching in the parade, the high schools will tour the U.S. Capitol, visit Mount Vernon and other monuments and museums.
Around 80 Grand Island students are making the trip. Lee said the students cover their own costs, with fundraising largely run though the school’s booster program helping offset the expense.
Bishop Neumann’s 53 students benefited from community donations, along with a holiday greenery sale and fundraisers, which Kellett said helped cover airfare and other costs.
For both directors, the trip carries extra weight tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“That’s a pretty big milestone,” Lee said. “And to be able to be a part of that is pretty neat.”
Kellett said the moment will stay with students long after the parade ends.
“These kids, they’ll be around for the 300th anniversary of the country, and they’ll be able to look back and tell their grandkids, ‘you know, I was there at 250 and was able to march in the National Independence Day Parade,’” Kellett said.
Both bands have spent the summer preparing. Grand Island started working on its music after its final spring concert in May, rehearsing its marching and music together on Tuesday evenings.
Bishop Neumann has rehearsed continuously over the summer and marched in two parades to prepare, a 150th anniversary celebration in Weston and the Papillion Days parade.
Kellett said the band’s last rehearsal in Wahoo drew residents who lined the streets holding signs and cheering the students on.
“The students have come in, and they’ve worked really hard,” Kellett said. “They have their music memorized and they’ve worked on their marching skills, and so all that effort into this they’re ready to go for the parade.”
The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. CT Saturday at Third Street and Constitution Avenue.
The president will deliver remarks at the Burning Hills Amphitheatre after touring the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, which is expected to open to the public on the nation’s semiquincentennial.
Trump arrived in Bismarck aboard the new Qatar-gifted Air Force One plane. From there, he traveled to Medora, in the western part of the state, for a private tour of the presidential library.
His speech is scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m. local time.
HAMDEN, Ohio (AP) — The 16 children found living in “deplorable” conditions inside a small, dilapidated rural Ohio home are part of the same family, officials said Wednesday.
Authorities arrested four adults Tuesday on felony child endangerment charges after finding the children in the home. Some were in dire need of medical treatment, authorities said.
Vinton County prosecuting attorney William Archer said the four adults were charged with second-degree felony child endangering because it involves “serious physical harm.”
Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders appeared in court Wednesday where a judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.. They have not yet been assigned lawyers.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said Wednesday that the conditions inside the house in the tiny village of Hamden were almost indescribable, saying it “really looked third world.”
“It’s just almost beyond comprehension,” he said without providing details about what was inside.
It appeared that the children spent most of their time in just one room for much of the four years they lived there, Wilson said.
The house sits on a road tucked away alongside a steep railroad embankment, where tracks carry rumbling trains through Hamden. On Wednesday, its doors and windows stood open to the 94-degree Fahrenheit (34-degree Celsius) heat. A tangle of discarded children’s items — two busted bicycles, a plastic play table, a beach pail and two infant carriers — stood in a pile in the yard.
The Ohio Bureau of Investigation and local sheriff’s department searched the home on Tuesday.
The children ranged in age from 1 1/2 years to 18 years old and included both boys and girls, officials said. Seven were transported to hospitals in Columbus and two were flown by helicopters.
Hamden has a population of less than 1,000 people and is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of Columbus.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.
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Children found in ‘deplorable’ Ohio home were part of same family
