Tim Walz: Pro-israel Minnesota Governor, And Ilhan Omar Supporter

(JTA) – Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who burst into national view after calling Republicans “weird,” will be Kamala Harris’ running mate on the November Democratic ticket.

Multiple outlets reported the choice early Tuesday, hours before Harris was set to appear with her pick at a Philadelphia rally.

Harris’ decision ends speculation that Josh Shapiro, the Jewish governor of Pennsylvania, could be in line for the role. Walz and Shapiro were reportedly the two final choices narrowed from a larger pool of men over the course of two weeks.

Shapiro had faced criticism over his Israel record that some called antisemitic because other candidates with similar outlooks had not drawn the same critiques.

Walz is one of those candidates. He has expressed repeated support for Israel’s existence, including this year; has drawn the endorsement of pro-Israel groups; and, after Oct. 7, condemned Hamas and those who did not immediately do so themselves.

“If you did not find moral clarity on Saturday morning, and you find yourself waiting to think about what you needed to say, you need to reevaluate where you’re at,” Walz said at a vigil held at Congregation Beth El in suburban Minneapolis, according to a local report.

“What was evident on Saturday morning was the absolute lack of humanity, the terrorism and the barbarism,” Walz said. “That’s not a geopolitical discussion. That’s murder.”

This spring, he urged the Democratic Party to take pro-Palestinian protesters seriously and include them in the party’s thinking, while also condemning hostility toward Jewish students at campus protests against Israel.

“I think when Jewish students are telling us they feel unsafe in that, we need to believe them, and I do believe them,” he said on a local PBS program. “Creating a space where political dissent or political rallying can happen is one thing. Intimidation is another.”

He also expressed support for Zionism and said those who do not recognize Israel are antisemitic this June at an event held by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.

“The ability of Jewish people to self-determine themselves is foundational,” he said, according to a recent report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “The failure to recognize the state of Israel is taking away that self-determination. So it is antisemitic.”

Israel and foreign policy have largely not been Walz’s focus during his 20 years in politics, which followed careers in the U.S. military and teaching high school. He first ran for Congress in 2006 after attending a boot camp for aspiring elected officials run by a nonprofit created to honor Paul and Sheila Wellstone, a Minnesota Jewish senator and his wife who died in a plane crash.

In Congress, Walz he joined the committees on agriculture and veterans affairs as well as caucuses that included the arts and LGBTQ affairs. He traveled to Israel on a 2009 diplomatic trip to the Middle East during which he met with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Bashar al-Asad. He also voted with his party to allocate foreign aid, including to Israel, and to back the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was reviled by Israel and its fiercest allies but supported by most Democrats in Congress.

Since being elected governor in 2018, Walz has advanced progressive policies including protecting abortion rights, expanding paid family leave and ensuring free school meals for all children, including immigrants. He has also condemned instances of antisemitism and this year he called for strengthening Holocaust education in Minnesota schools.

Jewish groups immediately began weighing in on Walz’s selection on Tuesday morning.

“Not only is Governor Walz an accomplished and beloved leader in the state of Minnesota, having been elected five times to the House of Representatives and twice to the governorship, but he is also a proud pro-Israel Democrat with a strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship,” said Marc Mellman, chair of the PAC affiliation with the group Democratic Majority for Israel, in a statement.

“We know the Harris-Walz team will stand up for our shared values, protect our community, and pursue smart, pro-Israel, pro-peace leadership abroad. We’re all in,” said the liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street, which has endorsed Walz in the past, in a statement.

The right-wing Zionist Organization of America, meanwhile, raised concerns about Walz’s past expressions of support for Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, among Israel’s fiercest critics in Congress.