PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Thousands of teenagers from more than a dozen countries screamed and cheered as Josh Shapiro took the stage, many standing on chairs in the cavernous conference hall.
Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor may still be unknown to many Americans outside his home state, but at BBYO, the world’s largest conference of young Jewish leaders, Shapiro is a rock star.
“We have some challenges,” he said. He made no mention of the midnight arson attack his family escaped last year or the anti-Semitism he said he faced regularly.
“In this moment,” he continued as the crowd waved Israeli flags, “I lean on my faith. I’m proud of my faith.”
As anti-Semitism sweeps the United States, Shapiro is perhaps the most prominent Jewish politician in the country who has made his religious beliefs central to his political identity — what he calls practicing his faith “out loud.” At this critical moment, the 52-year-old governor is trying to cross an almost impossible divide as a Jewish progressive and Zionist whose landslide re-election this fall is expected to propel him into the next presidential race.
Perhaps more than any other issue, Shapiro’s ability to navigate the personal and political risks associated with his beliefs will ultimately determine how far he goes in the evolving Democratic Party.
He has emerged as one of the party’s most promising candidates for the White House, driven by the broad political coalition he has assembled in one of the nation’s most important swing states. He is also one of the most reviled leaders by progressive activists, largely because of his staunch support for Israel.
rely on his faith
Shapiro defended Israel’s right to self-defense after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, while also expressing concern for Palestinian civilians and criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “dangerous and destructive force.” At home, the governor has been critical of pro-Palestinian campus protests, which he says are hostile to Jewish students.
His positioning hasn’t gone over well with some critics, who still call him “Genocidal Josh.” Shapiro has reignited tensions with a recent book in which he recalled a top aide to Kamala Harris asking Shapiro if he had ever served as an Israeli government agent while he was being vetted for potential vice president.
There has never been a Jewish president or vice president, and few Democratic leaders have been as openly committed to their faith as Shapiro. He celebrated Shabbat every Friday night with his family. He keeps kosher. His children went to Jewish day school. On the campaign trail, he spoke openly about his spiritual values, quoting the Bible at nearly every stop.
Shapiro’s allies acknowledge the risks, but they ultimately believe his faith will help him connect with more Americans as he takes the next step in his political career.
“He made a conscious choice to take a different path and be a different person that was true to who he was and what he believed in,” said Baptist pastor Marshall Mitchell, Shapiro’s close friend and spiritual adviser. “Great elected officials, great Americans, great thinkers, will never underestimate the power and impact of faith.”
Anti-Semitism is ‘a very real problem’
Shapiro told The Associated Press in an interview that anti-Semitism is “a very real problem” among both Democrats and Republicans.
“I think anyone who’s trying to lead this country, anyone who’s trying to lead a country, lead a community has a responsibility to speak out, no matter what side you’re on,” he said.
The governor said he and his family regularly face new incidents of anti-Semitism, most recently the February arrest of a man near Harrisburg who was charged with making terrorist threats and stalking.
Shapiro ally Jonathan Greenblatt, leader of the Anti-Defamation League, said he is currently seeing the highest levels of anti-Semitic hate crimes and harassment nationwide since the organization began tracking such data more than half a century ago.
Greenblatt criticized extremists and leaders of both parties, but he was quick to praise President Donald Trump for opposing anti-Israel protests on college campuses, despite the president’s “harsh approach.”
“I think we need to recognize that anti-Zionism has become very permissible in far-left progressive circles,” Greenblatt said.
Zionism believes in the right of the Jewish people to establish a Jewish nation-state in their ancestral homeland in the Middle East.
Gaza War Divisiveness
As Shapiro’s influence grew, Hamas’s attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza became a dividing line in American politics.
As protests against Israel spread, Shapiro said universities should not tolerate anti-Semitic intimidation any more than they should tolerate white supremacy, a comparison that angered critics on the left.
Beth Miller, political director of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace Action, said, “Governor Shapiro has a hateful history of U.S. policy toward Israel, including his failure to call for an end to U.S. participation in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and his smears and attacks on those who speak out for Palestinian rights.”
Miller said Shapiro’s leadership “is deeply at odds with his constituents — including American Jews.”
Opinion polls show mixed views on Israel. About 6 in 10 American Jews say Israel has committed war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, according to a September poll by The Washington Post. About 4 in 10 described Israel’s actions as genocide.
However, about three-quarters said Israel’s existence was crucial to the long-term future of the Jewish people.
In her new book, “Where We Keep the Light,” released last month, Shapiro opened up about Harris’ vetting process when she was considering the governor as her running mate two years ago.
He wrote that one of Harris’ advisers asked: “Have you ever served as an agent for the Israeli government?”
“Am I an Israeli double agent? Is she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was,” Shapiro wrote. He added that the episode “said a lot about some of the people around the vice president.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Shapiro declined to elaborate on the issue’s views on Harris’ team or whether it was an example of anti-Semitism.
He said “we should all be able to agree that anti-Semitism is wrong” while having “honest disagreements” about U.S. foreign policy.
“When I analyze Middle East policy, I focus on what is in the best interest of the United States of America, what promotes our national security, what promotes our economic interests, what creates more stability around the world,” he said. “To me, that is having a safe and secure Israel alongside a safe and secure Palestinian state, where Palestinian leaders recognize Israel’s right to exist, and where children who grow up on both sides of the border have the opportunity to grow up with a future of hope and prosperity.”
Attacked while they were sleeping
After celebrating Passover on April 13, 2025, Shapiro, his children and some extended family were sleeping in the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion when a stranger broke into the house and detonated multiple Molotov cocktails.
Cody Allen Balmer, 38, then called 911 to denounce Shapiro for “what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.” He later told police he would hit the governor with a hammer if they found him.
Ballmer pleaded guilty to attempted murder, terrorism and 22 counts of arson.
Shapiro said the incident still haunts him.
“I’m one of the lucky ones because I wasn’t killed like Melissa Holtman or Charlie Kirk. I wasn’t physically damaged like Gabby Giffords or Steve Scalise,” he told The Associated Press, referring to Democratic and Republican members of Congress who have come under political attack. “But I think we also walk around with the emotional scars that it brings.”
Shapiro said he struggled with the idea that “the job I loved” was also “putting my family on the verge of death.”
“It’s a hard thing to do as a father,” he added. “I’m still working through this issue candidly.”
The Rev. Jerome Fordham, who heads the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Action Network, said the challenges Shapiro faces allow him to connect with people on a deeper level.
“Even though they tried to kill him and his family, he did an incredible job,” Fordham said. He recently attended an NAACP gala where Shapiro spoke. “As a Jew, he can relate to everyone. He understands the struggle, just like the black community understands the struggle.”
Shapiro told The Associated Press that he will not give up on his beliefs.
“I refuse to live in fear, I refuse to back down,” Shapiro said. “While the threats are increasing, so is the light and joy I see in others. It makes me frankly ignore the noise, ignore the hate, and focus on the kindness in people.”
