An astronaut, kosher Jew and Southern gentleman walk into the VP race: Ranking the Jewishness of Harris’ VP prospects
Our intrepid reporter ponders the kishka connections of the top five contenders: Josh Shapiro, Mark Kelly, Roy Cooper, J.B. Pritzker and Andy Bashear
Mark Kelly, Roy Cooper and Josh Shapiro are said to be on Harris’ shortlist. Image by Getty/Canva
By PJ Grisar July 23, 2024
A shomer Shabbos Jew, an astronaut and an Andy Taylor-type walk into a vice presidential race.
We don’t yet know the punchline, but this trio, made up of Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and North Carolina’s Democratic governor Roy Cooper, are projected to be prospects for Kamala Harris’ running mate. Add to the mix Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, also a proud Jew, and Governor Andy Bashear of Kentucky, who may or may not have met one.
While, as many have jibed, Kamala is making her selection from a crowd of white dudes, they are all accomplished men in their own right, and each could appeal to a Jewish constituency with their own links to Yiddishkeit. That may not be a key criteria for the Harris campaign — she already has a Jewish man by her side — but in case you were wondering if the next occupant of the observatory will have a havdalah set or just a box set of Seinfeld, we have you covered, ranking them on a scale of 1-18.
What follows is a Jewish scorecard of each man, from their roles combating antisemitism to the likelihood they’ve had kishka.
Josh Shapiro — Governor of Pennsylvania
The breakdown: In 2022, Shapiro beat in a landslide a Christian Nationalist opponent, Doug Mastriano, who knocked him for going to “one of the most privileged schools in the nation as a young man.” The schools in question were, you guessed it, Jewish day schools. At 6 years old, young Joshua David — yes, it could be JD vs JD — he rallied for Soviet Refuseniks with his mother.
Jewish firsts: Shapiro keeps kosher and had the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg kashered.
Enough for a minyan?: Shapiro’s state of Pennsylvania had a Jewish population of 433,660 last year, making for 3.3.% of the state’s residents and a little over 6% of the Jews in the U.S. Notable members of the tribe from Pennsylvania include Bob Saget, Larry Fine of Three Stooges fame, P!nk, Noam Chomsky and both Miles Teller and Teller (of Penn and Teller).
Kishka?: He has almost certainly indulged, but that doesn’t mean he liked it.
How about Israel?: He’s been over a dozen times and proposed to his wife under a windmill in Jerusalem. He supports Israel’s self-defense while critiquing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Any work on antisemitism?: He’s not a fan of the Oldest hatred, calling out U.Penn for not taking concerns about antisemitism seriously and rebuking a candidate for Senate for investing in the app Rumble, a breeding ground for Holocaust denial. As state attorney general during the Tree of Life shooting, Shapiro called the attacks “horrific.” He initially supported the death penalty for the shooter, Robert Bowers, but later credited families of the victims with changing his mind about his support of capital punishment. At a groundbreaking for a new facility for the congregation, Shapiro said “ “my bracha, my prayer, is that this be a place of light and enlightenment.”
Related to Gwyneth Paltrow? If he is, he hasn’t mentioned it.
Score card: Given his level of observance, background and antisemitic attacks directed at him Shapiro gives the late Joe Leiberman a run for his money as the most Jewish running mate in American history. He gets a full chai — 18/18.
Mark Kelly – Senator from Arizona
The breakdown: While not Jewish himself, Kelly has Jewish ties through his wife, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, who he married in a Jewish ceremony. He was described by Alma Hernandez, a Mexican-Jewish member of Arizona’s House of Representatives as “an incredible partner to the Jewish community.” As a former astronaut, he will, if selected, have come closer to God than any previous vice president — at least in terms of being very high in the sky.
Jewish firsts: Taking after the Tanakh’s oldest instance of twin-based rivalry with Jacob and Esau, Kelly’s twin brother, Scott, also an astronaut, is two inches taller from having spent a year in space. That has to be a first.
Enough for a minyan?: Arizona has around 123,750, around 2% of the state’s population and 2% of the U.S.’s Jewish population. Notable Jews who have lived in the Copper State include Garry Shandling, Steven Spielberg, Barry Goldwater and journalist Hadas Gold. Jacob Steinmetz, the first Orthodox Jew drafted in Major League Baseball, plays for the Diamondbacks.
Kishka?: It’s possible he’s sampled some — also possible he preferred it to space food
How about Israel?: Kelly’s connection to Israel can be traced back to his Israeli colleague at NASA, Ilan Ramon, who died in the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003. As reported by the Forward’s Jacob Kornbluh, Kelly remains close with Ramon’s family and first visited Israel with Giffords in 2020, shortly after his election in the Senate. He’s returned at least twice since Oct. 7, once as a member of a four-person delegation to meet with Israeli leadership. While declaring full support for Israel’s right to defend itself, he has expressed concerns about civilian deaths to Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. He co-sponsored an amendment recommitting U.S. support to a two-state solution.
Any work on antisemitism?: As part of his Senate portfolio Kelly serves as a member of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism and is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Countering Antisemitism Act. He denounced an act of vandalism at Gifford’s synagogue, Congregation Temple Chaverim.
Related to Gwyneth Paltrow? Yes, through marriage. Gabby Giffords is the Goop entrepreneur’s second cousin.
Score card: Kelly’s connections to the Jewish community run deep and he has probably been to quite a few b’nai mitzvah in his time, somehow managing to keep a kippah on his hairless head. He gets an 15/18 on the Jew-o-meter, but this isn’t rocket science.
Roy Cooper – Governor of North Carolina
The breakdown: Roy Asberry Cooper III, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, has taught Sunday school and is a deacon and elder at his Presbyterian church. He has been likened to Andy Griffith and even dressed up like him one Halloween.
Jewish firsts: Cooper hosted the first ever Seder at the North Carolina governor’s mansion in 2018. The mansion has also hosted Hanukkah candle lightings.
Enough for a minyan?: North Carolina has the distinction of being home, however briefly, to the man often recognized as the first Jew in North America, Joachim Gans, of the doomed Roanoke Colony. Per Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky, “United States Jewish Population, 2023,” the state now has 48,935 Jews, or 0.5% of the state’s population and .7% of the U.S. population as a whole. Notable Jews from NC include businessman Ronald Perelman, comedian Soupy Sales, actor Evan Rachel Wood, musician and activist Si Kahn and journalist de-segregationist Harry Lewis Golden.
Kishka?: The odds seem low, but he probably nibbled some gefilte fish at the Seder in the governor’s mansion
How about Israel?: Cooper said in an interview that Hamas “committed atrocities” on Oct. 7 but that there have been “devastating consequences to civilians, women and children” from Israel’s attempts to defend itself. He endorsed a two-state solution and called for Arab countries to come together to advance it.
Any work on antisemitism?: In July, Cooper signed the SHALOM Act, which enshrined the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism into state law.
Related to Gwyneth Paltrow? Wouldn’t it be wild if he was too?
Score card: Cooper doesn’t seem to be a Jewish person, but if we remember that his lieutenant governor Mark Robinson (not by choice — he was elected separately) has a whole section on his Wikipedia devoted to his Holocaust denial, we can appreciate Cooper’s commendable record of solidarity with the Jewish people even more. He gets a 10/18, or a Southern Gentleman’s C — but one he really earned.
J.B. Pritzker – Governor of Illinois
The breakdown: Much like the Republican nominee, Pritzker comes from a wealthy real estate family; unlike the Donald, he is Jewish and probably actually worth the billions he claims. In his political life, Pritzker has invoked his family’s immigrant journey from humble beginnings to running the Hyatt hotel chain
Jewish firsts: Pritzker, known for his pugnaciousness, was the first politician to call Trump a felon after his conviction. It set a trend, and has since been used in Democratic campaign ads.
Enough for a minyan?: Illinois has 325,260 Jews, 2.6% of the state and around 5% of American Jews. Notable Jewish Illinoisans include Saul Bellow (born in Montreal), actor Morey Amsterdam, mob boss Herbert “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein, actor Alex Borstein, poet Shel Silverstein and too many more to name. A notable Jewish friend of a president was Abraham Jonas, who met Abe Lincoln in the Prairie State. (We like to think they bonded over both being named Abe.)
Kishka?: Pritzker has probably had it, given his background and the many fine delicatessens in the Land of Lincoln, though he did sign legislation requiring plant-based food at Illinois public schools. (Neither Impossible or Beyond have yet to introduce animal-free kishka.)
How about Israel?: After Oct. 7, Pritzker said his state stood “unequivocally” with the state of Israel. He later said he was “disappointed” by the Chicago City Council’s ceasefire resolution, skeptical that it would make a difference and concerned that the body had failed to “include all the perspectives” about the war. Pritzker welcomed news that two of his constituents, Natalie and Judith Raanan of Evanston, were among the hostages released by Hamas in November.
Oddly enough, Pritzker has also had to counter allegations that his family was funding pro-Palestinian groups.
And antisemitism?: Pritzker worked with survivors to open the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Then his opponent, Darren Bailey, said during their campaign that deaths in the Holocaust “doesn’t even compare” to the tragedy of abortions. Asked about anti-Israel protests on college campuses this spring, Pritzker said he had observed some bad actors — including people yelling antisemitic epithets — and wanted to “protect free speech rights but not hate-speech rights.” Also: “Protesting is fine, impeding academic operations is not.”
Related to Gwyneth Paltrow? No, but he has many notable relatives — sister Penny Pritzker was Secretary of Commerce in the Obama administration — and he’s only the sixth richest among them.
Score card: An easy 18/18. And if he, as vice president, made Impossible Kishka a reality, we might need a new scale.
Andy Bashear – Governor of Kentucky
The breakdown: A second generation governor, Bashear and his wife are both deacons at the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The family Christmas card is all white button-downs and polo shirts. The Jews of Kentucky — count ’em — like Bashear, who is often on their side supporting abortion rights and LGBTQ rights in a deep-red state.
Jewish firsts: He introduced an antisemitism task force last December.
Enough for a minyan?: The bluegrass state has around 17,600 Jews, which is 0.4% of the population and 0.3% of the U.S. total. Louis Brandeis hailed from Louisville. He’s kinda it.
Kishka?: If it happened, I hope it was Kentucky-fried in 11 herbs and spices.
How about Israel?: Beshear supports it. In 2022, he tweeted about a trip with his wife to the holy land that he called an “amazing opportunity to deepen our faith and to learn more about Israel.” Regrettably, he continued, because of the trip he was “unable to attend Fancy Farm,” whatever that is.
Any work on antisemitism?: Along with the aforementioned task force, Beshear adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism. He also responded to Kentucky lawmakers’ use of the phrase “Jewing down” and bizarre comments about Jewish women’s purportedly low incidence of cervical cancer by tweeting: “There is no place for antisemitism in Kentucky. Not in our communities and not in our government.”
Related to Gwyneth Paltrow? No, but as a legacy politico maybe he liked her performance in Netflix’s The Politician.
Score card: He’s not really giving Jewish, and that’s OK. We’ll give him a 7/18, confident he’d gladly fill in as a Shabbos goy.
Additional reporting by Odeya Rosenband and Jacob Kornbluh.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story referred to Gabby Giffords as a former Arizona state representative. She was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2001 to 2003, but is better known as a former U.S. representative for Arizona’s 8th District from 2007 to 2012.
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