In light of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro being one of the most prominent American Jews in both the Democratic Party and the public eye, he should know better than to make accusations against the State of Israel and its leader. This comes in light of Shapiro himself experiencing a terrorist attack at his Harrisburg home on the first night of Passover in 2025, and as one who governs a state that saw a mass shooting of 11 Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in the fall of 2018.
In fact, Pennsylvania has the fourth-highest number of antisemitic incidents in the United States.
That said, we would have hoped that the governor would be extremely sensitive and careful about making any statements or taking any actions that could increase Jew-hatred and Israel-bashing. And we would hope that the governor will do everything possible to minimize hatred against the Jewish state and the Jewish people.
Disturbingly, however, during an “All In” podcast on April 8, Shapiro proclaimed that Israel’s democratically elected prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “led around” America and “bullied” U.S. President Donald Trump into taking actions against Iran, which Shapiro wrongly mischaracterized as opposed to America’s security interests. Similarly, on “Real Time with Bill Maher” in March, Shapiro suggested that Trump was “forced” into the war by Netanyahu.
These grossly inaccurate statements employed the defamatory, antisemitic tropes and language of Jewish manipulation and control of America—a trope that may well endanger and increase hatred of Jews and the Jewish state.
Shapiro’s accusations are, of course, factually ludicrous. Trump doesn’t let anyone “bully” or “force” him into doing anything that he doesn’t want to do or anything that he believes is against America’s interests.
Iran, a radical Iranian Islamic regime, has been a dangerous, implacable enemy of America for 47 years. Tehran means it when, at its regular rallies, it urges the repeated chants “Death to America!” and labels the United States the “Big Satan” and Israel the “Little Satan.”
Iran is responsible for murdering and maiming thousands of Americans throughout the world; and, as the federal district court for the Southern District of New York detailed in the Havlish v. Bin Laden case, it had a major role in planning, facilitating and training the pilots for the worst terror attack on American soil: the terrorists attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 (one hijacked plane that landed in none other than Pennsylvania). Washington would have needed to take action against the Iranian regime even if Israel did not exist.
For decades, with no prompting from Israel, Trump has wanted to end the Iranian regime’s race toward nuclear weapons, as well as stop its anti-American terrorism and plans to destroy America. In a 2011 interview with Bill O’Reilly, he made it clear that he would do what was needed to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Curiously, Shapiro frequently accuses Trump of being a “bully.” When U.S. forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a narco-terrorist, Shapiro accused Trump of having a “bully’s weakness.” At a governor’s conference, he accused Trump of bullying Canada and its prime minister. He has also called Trump a bully when taking general potshots at him on shows like “The View” and elsewhere.
But suddenly, when it comes to Israel, Shapiro accuses Israel’s leader of bullying Trump.
Israel, of course, is not capable of pushing Trump around. A potential solo Israeli operation against Iran would not “force” the United States to get involved; Israel has gone it alone in virtually all its previous wars (except the 1956 Sinai campaign with France and Britain, and Israel clearing the skies over Iran for “Operation Midnight Hammer” last June).
The United States is the giant power that holds the cards—the carrots and sticks that are too often used to pressure Israel (which is the tiny size of the state of New Jersey) into positions against Israel’s (and America’s) interests.
Shapiro’s absurd accusations were not his only recent damaging statements. During the “All-In” podcast with host Jason Calacanis, he also falsely accused Netanyahu of “leading Israel down a dangerous and isolated path” and “fractur[ing] what used to be a nonpartisan, or bipartisan, American support for Israel.”
That’s wrong, insulting and bound to create enmity toward the Jewish people.
Israel and its leader have done nothing to fracture bipartisan support. The parties harming bipartisan support are the antisemitic Democratic “Squad” of progressives in the U.S. House of Representatives, including Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.); the 40 Democratic senators who voted this past week against arms and bulldozer sales to Israel to cater to their Muslim constituencies; the massive anti-Israel Arab press (Al Jazeera); Qatari-financed anti-Israel professors brainwashing America’s youth; and anti-Israel isolationists such as far-right political commentators Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.
Ironically, the week before the Molotov cocktail attack on Shapiro’s home, the governor may have inadvertently promoted more antisemitism by granting $5 million of Pennsylvania taxpayer funds to Philadelphia’s Al-Aqsa Islamic Society—an extremist mosque, community center and school that teaches, preaches and incites hatred of Jews and Israel. Despite ZOA’s request and the governor’s personal experience, the governor refused to rescind the grant.
If Shapiro wonders why bipartisan support has decreased, he needs to understand that he has contributed to this problem by his inaccurate allegations against Israel; his dangerous use of the ugly term “bullying” against the Jewish state’s elected leader; and a $5 million grant to an Islamic center that teaches generations of Philadelphians to erase and hate Jews and Israel.
We urge the governor to reconsider his words and actions that may unintentionally inspire bigoted individuals and others to have more hostility toward Jews and Israel.
