There are moments in public life when someone says out loud what many people whisper privately. David Wecht, justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania since 2016, did exactly that last week when he announced that he was leaving the Democratic Party over what he described as a growing tolerance for antisemitism.

For many Americans, this will immediately become another exhausting political food fight. Republicans will try to weaponize it. Democrats will try to explain it away. Cable-news panels will turn it into a scoreboard. Social media will turn it into a screaming match. That would be a mistake.

I grew up in Pittsburgh and knew Justice Wecht and his family. Long before robes, court opinions, elections and headlines, David was simply David. Smart. Principled. Serious about ideas. Serious about fairness. Serious about being Jewish. None of this is performative for him. None of it is fashionable. His convictions are deeply rooted in who he is and where he comes from. All of that matters.

Too often today, public figures adjust their values according to political weather patterns. They test every sentence against polling, donor pressure, activist outrage or social-media backlash. Very few people in public life are willing to risk alienating their own “side” to say something uncomfortable. Whether one agrees with Wecht’s decision or not, intellectual honesty of that kind has become increasingly rare. The nuance here is important because this conversation is bigger than party labels.

Antisemitism is not owned by one side of the political spectrum. History teaches us that it mutates. Sometimes, it comes wrapped in nationalism and conspiracy theories from the far right. Sometimes, it arrives disguised as “social justice” language from the far left. Sometimes, it hides behind anti-Israel activism that quickly spills over into hostility toward Jewish students, Jewish institutions and Jews themselves.

The inability—or unwillingness—of many leaders to acknowledge that reality has created enormous frustration for American Jews who spent decades feeling politically homeless on this issue.

Wecht referenced the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of the city, where he was married and where the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history took place in the fall of 2018. For Pittsburgh Jews, Tree of Life was not an abstract national news story. It tore through the emotional fabric of the community. It permanently altered how many Jews in Pittsburgh view safety, identity and public silence.

It was when Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood—the sacred place we grew up—was insanely attacked while Jews, many of them elderly, were worshipping on a Shabbat morning. That context matters, too.

What makes this moment particularly striking is that Wecht is not some fringe political actor looking for attention. He is a sitting justice on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court who spent decades inside Democratic politics and Democratic institutions. This was not the statement of an outsider throwing rocks. It was the statement of an insider saying that “something is wrong.”

Many Jews, particularly those who are older, grew up with an almost reflexive connection to the Democratic Party rooted in civil rights, labor movements, immigrant history and shared experiences of discrimination. For generations, that relationship felt natural and durable. What Wecht articulated this week is the growing sense among some Jewish Americans that the relationship has become strained—not necessarily because the entire party has changed, but because too many leaders have become hesitant to confront extremism when it emerges within their own coalition.

That is not a Democratic problem alone. It is an American leadership problem.

The easier path in modern politics is selective outrage. Condemn antisemitism when it comes from people you already dislike. Ignore it when it comes from your allies. Rationalize it when it is politically inconvenient. Too many institutions—political, academic, media and cultural—have fallen into exactly that trap.

What I admire about Wecht is not simply that he took a position. It’s that he was willing to do so publicly, clearly and without hedging. Conviction still matters. Moral clarity still matters. Integrity still matters.

Hopefully, Gov. Josh Shapiro takes notice of this and begins to focus on the antisemitism running rampant in K-12 schools across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. There are thousands of parents ready, willing and able to continue to point this out the Democrats in Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh has produced many extraordinary Jewish leaders over the years, and one of the defining characteristics of that community has always been resilience paired with honesty. Pittsburgh Jews tend not to posture. They tend to say what they mean. Wecht did that this week.

In an era filled with consultants, scripted talking points and carefully calibrated outrage, there is something refreshing about a public official willing to risk criticism in defense of principle.

Whether people agree with him or not, that kind of courage deserves respect.