Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, is turning more openly to his Jewish faith as antisemitism rises in the United States and the Israel-Hamas war continues to reverberate through American politics, according to an account of his remarks and interviews published by The Associated Press.
The AP reported that Shapiro told the thousands of teenagers gathered at BBYO—an international conference of young Jewish leaders—that he was facing “some challenges out there,” and he added that “this is a moment … where I lean on my faith.” Shapiro said, “I am proud of my faith,” while Israeli flags waved in the hall.
In the same AP reporting, Shapiro has made his religion central to his public identity, portraying faith as something he carries “out loud” at a time when he is widely seen as seeking a dominant reelection in Pennsylvania that could position him for a wider political role. The AP said Shapiro observes Shabbat every Friday night with his family, keeps kosher, and has his children attend Jewish day school.
Shapiro told the Associated Press that antisemitism is “a very real problem” among both Democrats and Republicans, saying leaders “has a responsibility to call it out no matter which side of the aisle it’s on.” He said he and his family face new incidents of antisemitism on a regular basis, and he pointed to a February arrest near Harrisburg of a man charged with making terroristic threats and stalking.
Jonathan Greenblatt, leader of the Anti-Defamation League, told the AP that he is seeing the highest levels of antisemitic hate crimes and harassment nationwide since the ADL began tracking the data more than half a century ago. Greenblatt criticized extremists and leaders from both political parties, while also praising President Donald Trump for opposing anti-Israel protests on college campuses, even as Greenblatt described the approach as “heavy handed.”
The AP also described divisions over the war in Gaza as a dividing line in American politics, with Shapiro’s growing influence meeting backlash from some progressive activists. The governor said universities should not tolerate antisemitic intimidation, comparing that to how they would treat white supremacy, a comparison the AP said inflamed some critics on the left.
Beth Miller, political director for the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace Action, criticized Shapiro’s record on U.S. policy toward Israel and pro-Palestinian advocacy. Miller told the AP that Shapiro has a “damning history,” and she said his leadership is “sharply out of line with his constituency — including American Jews.”
In a separate thread of his public profile, Shapiro addressed questions about his political vetting during Kamala Harris’s search for a running mate two years earlier. The AP reported that in Shapiro’s new book, “Where We Keep the Light,” he wrote that an adviser asked whether he had ever been “an agent of the Israeli government,” and Shapiro said he responded by calling the question offensive. In the AP interview, Shapiro declined to expand on what the question meant for Harris’s team, and he declined to say whether it reflected antisemitism.
The AP also revisited Shapiro’s account of a personal attack in Pennsylvania. It reported that after celebrating Passover on April 13, 2025, Shapiro, his children and some extended family were sleeping inside the governor’s mansion when a stranger broke in and exploded multiple Molotov cocktails. The AP said Cody Allen Balmer called 911 and later pleaded guilty to attempted murder, terrorism and arson-related charges; Shapiro told the AP the incident still haunts him.
In his AP interview, Shapiro said he was “one of the fortunate ones” who was not killed, and he described the episode’s effect as emotional as well as physical. Shapiro told the AP he would not back away from his faith, saying, “I refuse to live in fear, I refuse to back down,” and adding that the “light” and “joy” he sees in others allow him to ignore “the noise and … the hate.”