Josh Shapiro warns that attacks on AIPAC are being used to 'silence certain voters'

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro expressed concern that some politicians are using opposition to American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) donations as a way to "silence certain voices."

During an interview with Politico's senior political columnist Jonathan Martin on Tuesday, Shapiro was asked whether he believed that AIPAC, which has previously donated to both Republicans and Democrats, has become a dividing issue among the Democratic Party.

"I think it's been used cynically by some to try and silence certain voices to try and say that certain people participating in politics shouldn't count or should be viewed in a toxic way," Shapiro said. "Now, do I agree with every political decision they've made, every endorsement they made? Of course not."

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke to Politico about the growing opposition to AIPAC. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images via Reuters)

"I think what we have seen is a weaponization of that. And I think that is a danger for our system," he added. "When you have people who are advocating for issues that they feel strongly about, and they are having their voices silenced, I think that's a problem in our system."

He added that some have begun "blurring" the lines between AIPAC donations and donations from Jewish voters in a way that could be "dangerous" if left unchecked.

"I think it does get blurred because now what you are seeing is not, ‘AIPAC money’ or however it was termed, but you’re getting ‘the Jews who give to that candidate who also support AIPAC.’ I think it's very dangerous in our system if you are trying to silence certain voices based on their race based on their faith based on their particular ideology," Shapiro said.

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has called out both parties for having growing antisemitism problems. (Rachel Wisniewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Martin pointed to Rep. Thomas Massie's, R-Ky., recent primary loss to Trump-backed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein and Massie's concession speech where he highlighted Gallrein's support from pro-Israel groups like AIPAC.

"I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent to concede, and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv," Massie joked.

Shapiro admitted that he was not aware of Massie's comments or whether they would qualify as antisemitic but suggested that it was part of a deeper problem.

"[I]t's using that thread, using that narrative to score a cheap political point, to get a like, to get your attention in the media," Shapiro said. "And when you start doing that in a way that targets one group, Jewish Americans, you're not only making Jewish Americans less safe. At the end of the day, you make all people less safe. Because this is something I know to be true. When you allow one group to be scapegoated or targeted, you're making every other group ultimately less safe." 

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The Democratic National Committee recently voted on a resolution regarding AIPAC's "growing influence" in elections. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

A representative for AIPAC told Fox News Digital: "Treating support from AIPAC members differently than support from any other American citizen is wrong and undemocratic. Millions of Democrats are AIPAC members who believe the party is strongest when it respects the right of fellow Democrats to participate fully in the political process."

Fox News Digital also reached out to Rep. Massie's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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During a Democratic National Committee (DNC) meeting last month, members of the party voted on a resolution that called out the "growing influence" AIPAC has had on primaries. The resolution was later defeated after the Resolutions Committee passed a broader resolution targeting all dark money groups.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.