Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht announced on Monday that he has left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent, citing what he described as growing tolerance for antisemitism within the party.

Wecht, who said he was speaking in his “personal capacity” and not on behalf of the court, said his voter registration now reflects his judicial independence. A longtime Democrat who previously served as vice chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party from 1998 to 2001, stated that “the Democratic Party has changed.”

“In the years that have followed, that same hatred has grown on the left,” Wecht said, referring to the rise in antisemitism after the 2018 mass shooting at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation in Pittsburgh, where he and his wife were married and where he served on the board.

“Nazi tattoos, jihadist chants, intimidation and attacks at synagogues and other hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions are minimized, ignored and even coddled,” he said.

Wecht said he would continue to uphold the constitutional rights of “haters and extremists of all stripes” while remaining impartial on the bench.

“It is my hope that Pennsylvanians, and Americans, of all viewpoints and backgrounds will oppose and resist the scourge of Jew-hatred before it undermines what our ancestors have built here,” he said.

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