Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania and a proud, religious Jew, is widely expected to be named as Kamala Harris’s running mate in the coming days. Some have speculated that a Shapiro vice-presidency can tell us much about a Harris administration’s orientation toward the Middle East. The war in Gaza – which will either still be bloodying the Strip by the time the next American president is sworn in, or else will have left wreckage the likes of which will demand prolonged, expensive international assistance – has been at the centre of the divide in the Democratic Party between establishment Democrats and progressives. The establishment, personified by President Joe Biden, has essentially maintained the same opinions and policy perspectives on Israel and Palestine for decades. Progressives believe that the status quo has changed and so must America’s policies: a country guilty of war crimes, they hector, should not receive billions of American dollars in aid.
Shapiro distinguishes himself aggressively from this latter bunch. He was quick and consistent in his condemnation of Hamas’s grotesque attack on Israel on 7 October, days after which he insisted during a local radio interview that it was time “to recognise what is so clearly wrong – the acts of Hamas – and what is right, and that is Israel, our key ally’s right to defend herself in the face of this barbarism”. These comments enraged the US’s Muslim community and in the face of their ire Shapiro acknowledged that Hamas does not represent all Palestinians and that “there are so many peace-loving Arabs and peace-loving people in that region, no question”. And, whereas he continued to express support for Israel’s activities in Gaza, he has also called the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “one of the worst leaders of all time,” and called for an “immediate two-state solution”. These comments did little to assuage the anger – critics were also freshly incensed after a 31-year-old college newspaper piece by Shapiro resurfaced, wherein he described Palestinians as “too battle-minded”.
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