Harris team asked Gov. Shapiro about being an ‘Israeli double agent’

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro disclosed that he was asked whether he had ties of loyalty to Israel during the internal vetting process to serve as Kamala Harris’s vice presidential running mate, according to a report published by the New York Times.

The account appears in Shapiro’s upcoming memoir, where he describes being subjected to repeated questioning about Israel while Harris’s team assessed potential candidates.

Shapiro wrote that the line of inquiry left him unsettled, particularly because he was the only Jewish contender being evaluated at the time.

Among the questions posed, Shapiro said, was whether he could be considered a “double agent” for Israel. He described the remark as deeply inappropriate and said he challenged those conducting the vetting over its implications. According to Shapiro, he was told the question was part of standard procedure, a response he said revealed troubling assumptions within the process.

Although Shapiro was not selected for the ticket, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ultimately chosen, he has pushed back against claims that antisemitism influenced the decision itself. In previous public comments, Shapiro said he did not believe prejudice played a role in Harris’s final choice.

Still, the reported question has drawn sharp criticism from officials who work on antisemitism issues. Aaron Keyak, who previously served as a senior antisemitism envoy in the Biden-Harris administration, described the inquiry as emblematic of a broader problem facing Jewish public servants.

Keyak said Jewish officials are frequently subjected to loyalty tests that their non-Jewish counterparts do not face, calling such practices discriminatory and incompatible with democratic values.