\n That was the same line of questioning, four people involved with that process say, which led to top lawyer Dana Remus asking Shapiro if he had ever been an agent of Israel,<\/a> in a conversation that Shapiro recounts in his memoir set to be published next week.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI told her how offensive the question was,\u201d Shapiro wrote in an advance copy of which was obtained Sunday by CNN.\n <\/p>\n \n Shapiro described feeling that he was being asked only because he is Jewish and adds that to be asked that \u201csaid a lot about some of the people around the VP.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Shapiro\u2019s calling Remus out by name infuriated some in the orbit of former President Barack Obama, with whom Remus is close, having worked for him both in the White House and when he was setting up his post-presidency. Shapiro has built up an active relationship of his own<\/a> with the 44th president, who officiated Remus\u2019 wedding<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n But more than anything, the blow-up further aggravates a relationship between Harris and Shapiro that was fraught for years before she ever brought him in for an interview, and that is now on a potential collision course as both consider 2028 presidential runs. Harris, in her own 2024 campaign account, previously said she was concerned<\/a> Shapiro \u201cwould be unable to settle for a role as number two and that it would wear on our partnership.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The four people involved with the vetting process argue that the question of being a foreign agent is standard on the forms all the politicians hoping to be picked were asked to fill out, and which is the same form used for all high-level federal government appointees. Remus\u2019 additional questions, they say, were also a natural expansion on the form as Shapiro entered the finalist stage of consideration.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe crux of vetting is asking uncomfortable and even farfetched questions, especially ones that could be raised by your opponents. \u2018Have you ever had an affair?\u2019 \u2018Have you ever embezzled state funds?\u2019 \u2018Have you ever been an agent for another country?\u2019 The point isn\u2019t that you believe any of it to be true,\u201d said a person close to Remus. \u201cIt\u2019s that the subject needs to be on record with definitive answers.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n A separate person involved with the vetting process added: \u201cPulling punches would have been a disservice to both the nominee and her potential running mate.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Given the attention to the sometimes-blurred lines between anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment and the concern of accusing Jews of having dual loyalties to the US and Israel, the disclosure of the questioning has stirred anger among some prominent Jewish leaders.\n <\/p>\n \n Deborah Lipstadt, who served as the special envoy for antisemitism in the Biden-Harris administration, called the questions \u201cclassic antisemitism.\u201d David Wolpe, a prominent rabbi emeritus from a large congregation in Los Angeles and Jewish leader, posted on X<\/a>, \u201cJosh Shapiro\u2019s great-grandfather was a Scranton city councilman. Wonder if she asked Tim Walz if he was a secret German or Swiss spy.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n That Walz was asked a similar question had been kept confidential until now, as had the line of questioning to Shapiro, which was prompted by a review of the Pennsylvania governor\u2019s work history, which includes volunteer work he did in Israel while in high school and a brief time working in public affairs for the Israeli embassy in Washington.\n <\/p>\n![\"Pennsylvania](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/68c9fac3-b322-4c6b-8e01-c7011a368ff3.jpg\")
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