Where Tim Walz stands on Gaza and the Israel-Hamas war
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Some Democrats pushed Kamala Harris to pick Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro because of worries about Shapiro's positions on the Israel-Hamas war. But Walz's pro-Israel stances are largely similar to those of other Democrats.
The big picture: Walz, like the Biden-Harris administration, has sought to thread the needle when discussing the conflict.
- He has called for a two-state solution and supported Israel's right to defend itself, while also calling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza "intolerable" and praising the civic engagement of pro-Palestinian activists.
Yes, but: Shapiro's more-forceful criticism of college protesters after Oct. 7 in Pennsylvania — where protests occurred on more campuses than was the case in Minnesota — fueled a backlash from the left.
- Several high-profile Jewish lawmakers have pushed back, saying the scrutiny of Shapiro's record on Israel amounts to an antisemitic double standard, because Shapiro is Jewish.
Context: Last spring, thousands of Democratic primary voters — especially in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota — cast "uncommitted" protest votes against Joe Biden over his support for Israel and calling for an end to military aid to Israel.
- Minnesota has the most "uncommitted" delegates in the country.
Zoom in: Pro-Palestinian activists who defend Walz point to an MPR News interview after "uncommitted" voters won 18% of the vote in Minnesota's March primary. He called it a group of "civically engaged folks."
- Walz expressed similar sentiments in a July interview with PBS News: "We need a two-state solution … The atrocities of October 7 are painful and they're real, and Israel's right to defend itself is real. But, also, the situation in Gaza is intolerable. The humanitarian crisis must be brought to an end."
What they're saying: "My metric is not how bad the other guy was, my metric is how good is [Walz]," Taher Herzallah, a Minnesota-based leader of the group American Muslims for Palestine, told Axios.
- "If it's more of the same Democratic Party politics when it comes to Palestine, then we are not very excited about Gov. Walz," he added, noting voters may stay home in November over Gaza.
The fine print: Herzallah says his group has called for Minnesota to sell off state investments with ties to Israel.
- Minnesota's governor chairs a board that manages these assets, but Herzallah said his group has received no substantive response from Walz.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota & the Dakotas praised Walz's "pro-Israel record" and "stalwart friendship" with the Jewish community in a statement.
- "The ability of Jewish people to self-determine themselves is foundational to everything," Walz told the group in June, "and the failure to recognize the state of Israel is taking away that self-determination. So it is antisemitic."
- The group also praised Walz's support of Holocaust education. (The New York Times reported that, as a teacher, Walz taught vivid lessons about the origins of the genocide in his rural Nebraska classroom.)
What we're watching: Elianne Farhat, head of the progressive group TakeAction Minnesota and national "uncommitted" movement leader, told Axios she supports Walz's selection because she found him open to negotiation and compromise on various issues as governor.
- Farhat added she hoped the Harris-Walz ticket would be open to change on Gaza, too — an issue that right now is "not a winning position," morally or electorally.
- "You have a real question if the growth and change we've seen from him on other issues will translate to growth and change on foreign policy."
