Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht announced on Monday that he is leaving the Democratic Party due to what he said was the party’s “acquiescence to Jew-hatred.”

Wecht, who was just retained by Pennsylvania voters for another 10-year term in 2025, said he made the statement in his personal capacity since judges maintain their independence.

However, Wecht ran as a Democrat-aligned candidate who was endorsed by Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro.

In his statement, Wecht said that the Democratic Party has changed since he got into politics in 1998 and has allowed for antisemitism amongst its ranks.

“In the quarter century that has passed since then, the Democratic Party has changed,” Wecht’s statement read in part. “Nazi tattoos, jihadist chants, intimidation and attacks at synagogues, and other hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions are minimized, ignored, and even coddled. Acquiescence to Jew-hatred is now disturbingly common among activists, leaders and even many elected officials in the Democratic Party.”

Wecht did not point to specific examples from within the Democratic Party, but he did note that he and his wife got married at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, which was later the victim of a hate-fueled mass shooting that killed 11 people.

“In the years that have followed, that same hatred has grown on the left,” Wecht said, referring to the 2018 mass shooting. “Increasingly, it has moved from the fringe to the mainstream. It is the duty of all good people to fight this virus, and to do so before it is too late.”

Wecht also said that he still maintains his independence as a judge and will “vindicate the legal rights that haters and extremists of all stripes enjoy in our country and in our Commonwealth.”

“My jurisprudence and adjudication have always been independent, and they always will be,” Wecht said. “Now, my voting registration reflects that independence as well.”

With Wecht now unaffiliated with either party, Democrats still hold a 4-2 majority over the Republicans on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.