St. Paul council president calls Pa. governor a ‘hardcore Zionist,’ says Kamala Harris shouldn’t pick him

St. Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali warned presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris this week against choosing Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate because of his strong support for Israel. A prominent Minnesota Jewish organization said the councilwoman’s attack on Shapiro was antisemitic.

“I’m just a lefty council president of a Midwest city but everyone in my world is saying Shapiro cannot be VP pick if this new POTUS candidacy wants to energize the base & win. Do not deflate our Democratic Party just as soon as you inflated it, by choosing a hardcore Zionist VP,” Jalali wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “It makes absolutely no sense to choose a VP who is far to the right of not just party’s grassroots base on Gaza, but mainstream party leadership as well. Strategically, it is disastrous.”

Jalali’s statement was praised by those on the left critical of Israel’s ongoing attack on Gaza, including Minneapolis City Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai: “Love to my sister across the river for speaking the truth #FreePalestine,” Chughtai posted on X.

But others saw antisemitism, noting Shapiro is the only Jewish politician who’s reportedly on the shortlist of potential running mates for Harris. They said Shapiro’s views on Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aren’t substantially different from other contenders, such as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

“All three of these elected officials are supportive of Israel,” said Ethan Roberts, deputy executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Minnesota and the Dakotas. “Why is it that only the Jewish governor of Pennsylvania is being targeted by the left, by the council president?”

Jalali did not respond to interview requests.

Harris is expected to name her running mate no later than Tuesday. Like Walz, Shapiro’s record has been under scrutiny as a vice presidential contender. The 51-year-old executive, who also served two terms as the commonwealth’s attorney general, could significantly enhance the Democrats’ prospects in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state.

But choosing Shapiro also risks alienating the party’s left wing, as illustrated by Jalali’s post. In Minnesota, uncommitted delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago already said they want Harris to take a stronger position on a cease-fire and an arms embargo on Israel.

“I believe in the Harris presidency. I believe she can take up the immense responsibility of the future as a world leader. That can only happen if she changes course from Biden on Gaza: clear commitments to permanent ceasefire, stop arming Israel, select VP who’ll uphold that,” Jalali wrote in another X post.

Shapiro has been open about his love of Israel, saying he considers himself a Zionist. He called a protest outside a Jewish-owned Philadelphia restaurant a “blatant act of antisemitism.” In May, Shapiro said it was “past time” for the University of Pennsylvania to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment from its campus.

But at the same time, Shapiro has been sharply critical of Netanyahu, calling him “one of the worst leaders of all time.”

A spokesman for Shapiro said Thursday the Pennsylvania governor “has been forceful in speaking out against hate in whatever form — including antisemitism and Islamophobia.”

Shapiro has “repeatedly been clear that he supports Israel and its right to defend itself from the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 and attacks from other terror groups,” spokesman Manuel Bonder said in a prepared statement. “Hamas is a terrorist organization as designated by the United States and has systematically murdered, raped, and brutalized innocent civilians — including Americans.”

Bonder continued: “The Governor has also been clear many times that Benjamin Netanyahu is a deeply flawed leader who failed to protect his country on October 7, who continues to steer Israel down a dangerous and destructive path that makes peace harder to achieve, and that this war has tragically ended too many innocent lives in Gaza.”

Walz has also been supportive of Israel since the Hamas attack. During an Oct. 10 speech at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, Walz described the attack as “terrorism and barbarism.”

Walz went on to say, “Here in the state of Minnesota, we stand firmly with the state of Israel and the righteousness of the cause.”

At a JCRC event in June, several months into the ongoing conflict, the DFL governor addressed the rise of antisemitism.

“We saw your children feeling like they couldn’t be on [college] campuses in Minnesota,” Walz said. “And that not only breaks my heart, it is wrong,”

Walz said Hamas must return Israeli hostages to their families, “and then we can have a further discussion.” And he said “the ability of Jewish people to self-determine themselves is foundational.”

“The failure to recognize the state of Israel is taking away that self-determination. So, it is antisemitic,” Walz said.

The war has divided the Democratic Party in Minnesota and nationally. It’s also been a source of friction within the Minneapolis and St. Paul city halls.

Chughtai was part of a supermajority of council members who overrode a veto by Mayor Jacob Frey earlier this year to pass a resolution on the Israel-Hamas war that strained personal relationships inside Minneapolis City Hall.

More than merely calling for a cease-fire — as many liberal cities across the nation did — the resolution also called for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel.

Supporters of Palestinian rights, including some Jewish activists, packed council chambers at several meetings — while the region’s most prominent Jewish groups stringently opposed the language. The issue pitted Frey, who is Jewish, against four Muslim council members who supported the resolution, including Chughtai.

Chughtai declined to comment Thursday about her post praising Jalali for “speaking the truth.”

Star Tribune staff writer Dave Orrick contributed to this story.