Gov. Tim Walz addresses our Community Gathering in Solidarity with Israel on Oct. 10, 2023, at Beth El Synagogue. (Darrell Owens Photography)

August 6, 2024

Steve Hunegs, executive director of Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC), released a statement applauding Vice President Harris’ selection of Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.

“Gov. Walz has a long record of friendship with both his Jewish constituents and the state of Israel.

“Gov. Walz has spoken at three of the JCRC’s past four (non-election year) Annual Events. Most recently, at our Annual Event on June 2, 2024, Gov. Walz spoke up forcefully in support of Israel and against those who seek to delegitimize it:

‘I see people debating something that I don’t feel is debatable here. The ability of Jewish people to self-determine themselves is foundational to everything […] and the failure to recognize the state of Israel’s taking away that self-determination. So it is antisemitic, that is a statement that is fact.’

“Gov. Walz also spoke about the importance of ‘moral clarity,’ – of standing in solidarity with Israel against the terrorism of Hamas – both on June 2 and at our October 10, 2023, c (Walz speaks at 42:00 in the embedded video):

‘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 […] What was evident on Saturday morning was the absolute lack of humanity, the terrorism and the barbarism. That’s not a geopolitical discussion. That’s murder.’

At the October 10 solidarity gathering, Walz continued:

‘Here in the state of Minnesota, we stand firmly with the state of Israel and the righteousness of the cause.’

Consistent with his support for a robust U.S.-Israel relationship during his 12 years in Congress, Gov. Walz ordered flags to be lowered at half-mast after the October 7 terror attacks and was sensitive to the likelihood that antisemitism would rise in the U.S. during the impending Israeli war against Iran-backed terror groups:

‘I assure each and every one of you here, that all of the resources in the state of Minnesota [will be applied] to protect you and your homes, your businesses, and your place of worship […] All of us understand what’s coming. This is going to be a difficult time. But it’s a time of moral clarity of what needs to be done, what will be done, and the protection of Israel.’

“We appreciate the strong stand that Governor Walz has taken in defense of Jewish students who are grappling with unprecedented antisemitism. At our June event, the Governor stated:

‘We saw your children feeling like they couldn’t be on [college] campuses in Minnesota. And that not only breaks my heart, it is wrong.’

Relatedly, at our June annual event, Governor Walz also said the following on education issues:

‘We need to do better on Holocaust education. We need to do better on ethnic studies. And I tell you this as a teacher and as governor, too. We don’t need test scores or anything to tell that we’re failing. People’s misunderstanding of what’s happening or what has happened in the Middle East is just stunning in many cases. And I think that lack of information, that lack of knowledge and the way people throw around certain terms or seem to try and rewrite history, it’s apparent to me that what JCRC, Dora [Zaidenweber, z”l], and so many of the advocates in this room knew was, we have got to educate, especially our young people, about the true story. We have to make sure they know.  

‘And as so many of you know, this is a really interesting study in this, especially at this time, we passed the law — but who writes the curriculum is gonna be really, really important. So to make sure — and JCRC being there — making sure we’re held accountable, that this curriculum is correct and how it’s being delivered is done right.’

“Gov. Walz has also been a leader in Holocaust Education, dating back to his time as a social studies teacher in Mankato, MN. In 2023, Gov. Walz strongly supported and later signed into law a JCRC led initiative to mandate the teaching of the Holocaust and other genocides in Minnesota schools.”

Photos by Darrell Owens Photography