rootsaction

“Opposition to putting Josh Shapiro on the ticket is not about his religion, it’s about his political positions,” Jewish leaders of RootsAction.org said today. The leaders of the group, which has 1.2 million supporters online, labeled as “an emerging lie” the claim that opposition to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro becoming the Democratic vice-presidential nominee is a manifestation of antisemitism.

RootsAction co-founder Jeff Cohen, national director Norman Solomon and political director Sam Rosenthal – all three of them Jewish – cited Shapiro’s notable record of antagonism toward protesters urging a ceasefire in Gaza. They also noted positions he has staked out that are out of sync with the party’s mainstream and Kamala Harris herself, including supporting tax subsidies for private schools and major tax cuts for corporations.

The Step Aside Joe campaign, sponsored by RootsAction.org, released the following statement today:

Since the heinous October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas, President Biden has been a vocal backer of Israel’s “right” to wage a horrific bombing campaign on the people of Gaza in the name of “self-defense.” Meanwhile, 66 percent of the U.S. voting public and 80 percent of Democrats have told pollsters they want the U.S. government to “call for a ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza.” Biden’s failure to call for a ceasefire reflects that he is badly out of step with public opinion.

While tragic events have escalated in Israel and Gaza for more than 10 days, Joe Biden has proven himself to be a leader far more interested in supporting one side of the conflict than seriously weighing in for diplomacy and de-escalation.

In response to the heinous Hamas assault, Biden quickly pledged to “stand with Israel” and provide Israel everything it needed to “respond to this attack.” Predictably, as in the past, Israel responded with horrific aerial bombardment of Gaza, striking apartment buildings, schools, ambulance convoys and civilians obeying Israel’s orders to flee southward. While Israel denies responsibility for the attack on the Al-Ahli Hospital, its air strikes have indisputably killed several thousand civilians, with many more casualties occurring daily.

Seeking “to honor peacemaking and whistleblowing,” the cities of Albuquerque, N.M., and San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., have issued proclamations designating April 24-30 as Daniel Ellsberg Week to honor the renowned Pentagon Papers whistleblower.

In Albuquerque, city council member Tammy Fiebelkorn said that honoring Ellsberg “is honoring our collective strength to combat corruption and ensure government accountability.”