Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht has announced that he is leaving the Democratic Party, citing anti-Jewish actions and rhetoric coming from within the political organization as the reason for his departure. Wecht explained his decision in a message that was distributed through the state court system, stating that antisemitic “hatred has grown on the left” and that it has “moved from the fringe to the mainstream.”
“Nazi tattoos, jihadist chants, intimidation and attacks at synagogues, and other hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions are minimized, ignored, and even coddled,” Wecht wrote. “Acquiescence to Jew-hatred is now disturbingly common among activists, leaders, and even many elected officials in the Democratic Party.”
He then expressed that he could “no longer abide by this,” going on to add, “So, I won’t. I am no longer registered within any political party.” Wecht did not include specific examples of the kind of behavior he mentioned, nor did he name any party leaders or elected officials who are guilty of antisemitism. Controversial Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, Graham Platner, was found to have a Nazi-related tattoo in 2025.
Platner, who is likely to win the Democratic primary, has since disavowed the tattoo’s meaning and had it covered up. According to a report from WHYY, in 1998, Wecht married his wife at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Congregation, a Jewish synagogue, where he served as a member of the board of trustees. Tree of Life was also the site of the deadliest assault on the Jewish community in U.S. history.
During the horrific incident, a gunman opened fire in the synagogue, killing 11 people and injuring many others. Wecht’s announcement marks a huge shift for the justice, who was elected to the state’s Supreme Court as a Democrat and has a long association with Democratic politics in Pennsylvania. He also served as vice-chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party before winning seats on the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, along with the seat he currently occupies.
In Pennsylvania, judges and appellate court justices run for their office in partisan elections similar to other types of government positions. Wecht ran for reelection as a Democrat in 2025, securing another decade-long term. This also isn’t the first time that Wecht has spoken out against antisemitism. Following the attack at Tree of Life, the justice slammed Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for making antisemitic comments and issued a call for her to be “disciplined.”
Wecht also recently joined U.S. District Judge Roy Altman of the Southern District of Florida in the city of Pittsburgh to have a conversation about his new book, Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law. Altman himself has repeatedly skewered college activists for protesting against Israel’s reaction to the Hamas terrorist attack that happened in October 2023, accusing them of being “brainwashed.”
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“I was shocked that these people were blaming the victims, that suddenly the Jews were the oppressors, that the Jewish women who were raped and their daughters who were raped were the aggressors,” Altman went on to say. During that attack, over 1,200 Israeli citizens, the majority of them civilians, were killed.
In the conclusion of his statement, Wecht said that he would remain an “impartial justice” on the bench, even if it requires him to “vindicate the legal rights that haters and extremists of all stripes enjoy in our country and in our Commonwealth.” Wecht wrote, “I am confined to a judicial role, and in that role, I maintain independence at all times and in all respects. My voting registration now reflects my independence as well.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video