Earlier this week, seeing Pennsylvania’s Democratic senator John Fetterman call out and denounce that antisemitic mob chanting “Goldie, Goldie you can’t hide, we accuse you of genocide” outside of a Philadelphia falafel restaurant, I asked, “So… how certain are we that if Mehmet Oz had won the election, he’d be out there calling out these mobs as irredeemably antisemitic?”
Some folks want to label me a “racist boomer” over this. Neither label applies.
As far as I can tell, Dr. Oz has not made any statements about Israel, the Gaza Strip, Hamas, or Palestine since October 7. Nor has Oz made any statements about antisemitism here in the U.S., nor about Islamophobia. Nothing on his Twitter feed, nothing on his web site, nothing in any searchable news coverage. From everything we can see, Oz doesn’t want to touch this ongoing news event with a ten foot pole, or really any other political topic.
Back during the Senate campaign, Oz and his campaign issued a policy memo that indicated Oz was a strong supporter of Israel, and an impassioned critic of antisemitism.
Israel is a vital American ally and a vibrant democracy in the world’s most troubled region. The incredible friendship between our countries is carved into the bedrock of our shared values and common belief in God, liberty, equality, and human rights.
I have communicated directly with Israel’s political leadership and leaders in its medical community, and was blessed to visit the country with my entire family. I was welcomed with warmth and respect by members of all faiths, and witnessed a country with millions of Jews, Muslims and Christians living and worshiping freely and united by a shared commitment to coexistence and peace.
The Jewish connection to the holy land is ancient and the United States must stay unequivocally supportive of the right of the Jewish people to live freely and safely in the Jewish State.
… As a United States Senator, I will strongly support American efforts to ensure that Israel has the qualitative military edge it needs to defend itself against genocidal enemies and terrorists. I will work to provide Israel with diplomatic backing on the world stage and in the United Nations, where it is so wrongfully singled out for abuse. I will fight the anti-Semitic BDS movement and oppose economic discrimination against Israel. I vehemently support the Taylor Force Act and oppose the grotesque cash rewards given to the families of terrorists who murder Israelis.
Now, here’s the thing: if you go before the voters in 2022, and tell them you’re a staunch supporter of Israel, and then in late 2023 just don’t say anything at all after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, I start to doubt that you’re really that big a supporter of Israel. I start to think that in 2022, you were just telling people what they wanted to hear.
The fact that the guy Oz beat is showing up at the rally for Israel and draping the Israeli flag over his shoulders like Superman’s cape just makes the contrast that much more vivid.
Oz, having been through the ordeal of running for Senate, having his reputation ripped to shreds by an often unfair media environment, and then suffering the indignity of losing, may wish to just go back to his apolitical life. If he did make that choice, I can’t begrudge him that. Oz is a smart guy who had a seemingly happy life as an accomplished doctor and celebrity before running for Senate, and he can spend the rest his life as he wishes. But with that said… for those of us who always saw him as a celebrity dilettante who just decided to be a Republican Senate candidate one day, and who dramatically underestimated the difficulty of winning a hard-fought race in a swing state… well, Oz’s desire to leave the world of politics behind feels like vindication.
Most people were surprised to learn that Oz was a Republican, and there was little to no record of Oz fighting for any conservative causes before he announced his Senate bid. He seemed like a guy who ran on the Republican side just because he was on good terms with Trump and there was less competition for the nomination.
The fact that Oz has chosen to walk away from politics entirely since Election Day 2022 appears to be further evidence that the skeptics were right.