Potential VP Pick Shapiro Under Fire for Anti-Palestinian Op-ed in 1993

Shapiro
AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who is considered a likely contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, is facing criticism from left-wing Democrats over a pro-Israel op-ed he wrote in 1993 in which he doubted a two-state solution.

In the op-ed, Shapiro disclosed that he had volunteered at an Israeli army base as a teenager, and opined that  the Palestinians were “too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.”

The Philadelphia Enquirer reported:

In the opinion article, titled “Peace not possible,” Shapiro, then a 20-year-old student at the University of Rochester, argued that a negotiated accord between Israeli and Palestinian leaders would not end conflict in the region, writing: “Using history as precedent, peace between Arabs and Israelis is virtually impossible and will never come.”

“Palestinians will not coexist peacefully,” Shapiro wrote. “They do not have the capabilities to establish their own homeland and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States. They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.”

Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Shapiro, said in a statement that the governor’s position has changed over the last three decades and noted his support for a two-state solution.

Anti-Israel staffers in the White House are reportedly furious over the potential selection of Shapiro as Harris’s running mate.

Shapiro’s defenders argue that he is a victim of antisemitism that has become rampant within the “progressive” left.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.