That’s no ordinary menorah on Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro’s shelf

Image by Screenshot/Twitter

By David Ian Klein November 9, 2020

Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Jewish day-school-educated and kosher-keeping attorney general, found himself in the spotlight last week when he became a symbol of opposition to the president’s baseless claims of election fraud.

Shapiro was a frequent guest on news shows, explaining the ballot counting process in Pennsylvania and reassuring the country that he had seen no evidence of fraud.

One other member of the Shapiro family became an unwitting star as well, when he unwittingly wandered into frame during his father’s interview with MSNBC Friday morning.

I’m taking his phone away for 24 hours. ? https://t.co/1OYI8N4LwV

— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) November 7, 2020

However, Shapiro’s son isn’t the only thing to notice in his background.

Shapiro has a few choice tchotchkes on the bookshelf which became a common sight on television. Something tells us they aren’t there by coincidence.

An RBG Menorah

That’s right, on Shapiro’s Hanukkah candelabrum, the ninth and center candle, also known as a shamash, is a figurine of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died only weeks before the November 3 election.

A model USPS Truck

A nod to the U.S. Postal Service, which managed to facilitate vote by mail for millions of Americans during an unprecedented election cycle.

A stuffed Count von Count

The famous character from “Sesame Street,” who loves nothing more than to enumerate. Possibly a rebuke to the president’s call to stop counting ballots in states where he was winning Tuesday night.

David Ian Klein covers breaking news and international Jewish communities for the Forward. You can reach him at [email protected] and on Twitter @davidianklein.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO