Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is concerned some politicians are using their opposition to American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) donations as a way to “silence certain voices.”
The Democratic governor spoke about the issue in an interview with Politico‘s senior political columnist Jonathan Martin Tuesday.
Shapiro was asked whether he thought the AIPAC, which has previously donated to both Republicans and Democrats, has become a dividing issue in the Democratic Party.
“I think it’s been used cynically by some to try and silence certain voices to try and say that certain people participating in politics shouldn’t count or should be viewed in a toxic way,” Shapiro said. “Now, do I agree with every political decision they’ve made, every endorsement they made? Of course not.”
“I think what we have seen is a weaponization of that. And I think that is a danger for our system,” he continued. “When you have people who are advocating for issues that they feel strongly about, and they are having their voices silenced, I think that’s a problem in our system.”
He said some have started “blurring” the lines between AIPAC donations and donations from Jewish voters in a way that could be “dangerous.”
“I think it does get blurred because now what you are seeing is not, ‘AIPAC money’ or however it was termed, but you’re getting ‘the Jews who give to that candidate who also support AIPAC.’ I think it’s very dangerous in our system if you are trying to silence certain voices based on their race based on their faith based on their particular ideology,” Shapiro said.
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Martin pointed to Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) recent primary loss to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who was backed by President Donald Trump.
In his concession speech, Massie highlighted Gallrein’s support from pro-Israel groups like AIPAC.
“I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent to concede, and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv,” Massie said.
Shapiro, who is Jewish, admitted that he was not aware of Massie’s comments or whether they would qualify as antisemitic. He did suggest, however, that it was part of a deeper problem.
“[I]t’s using that thread, using that narrative to score a cheap political point, to get a like, to get your attention in the media,” Shapiro said. “And when you start doing that in a way that targets one group, Jewish Americans, you’re not only making Jewish Americans less safe. At the end of the day, you make all people less safe. Because this is something I know to be true. When you allow one group to be scapegoated or targeted, you’re making every other group ultimately less safe.”
A representative for AIPAC told Fox News Digital, “Treating support from AIPAC members differently than support from any other American citizen is wrong and undemocratic. Millions of Democrats are AIPAC members who believe the party is strongest when it respects the right of fellow Democrats to participate fully in the political process.”
