Shapiro seeks to downplay his time as IDF volunteer after college op-ed resurfaces
‘I was 20,’ says Pennsylvania governor and potential VP nominee about op-ed titled ‘Peace Not Possible,’ in which he described himself ‘as a Jew and past volunteer in the Israeli army’
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro react during a visit to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2024.
Pennsylvania Governor and potential Democratic vice presidential nominee Josh Shapiro on Friday sought to distance himself from a recently uncovered op-ed he wrote in college, in which he identified as a former volunteer in the IDF and argued that the Palestinians are too “battle-minded” to pursue peace with Israel.
“While he was in high school, Josh Shapiro was required to do a service project, which he and several classmates completed through a program that took them to a kibbutz in Israel where he worked on a farm and at a fishery,” Shapiro’s spokesperson Manuel Bonder told The Times of Israel.
“The program also included volunteering on service projects on an Israeli army base. At no time was he engaged in any military activities,” Bonder added in a statement responding to an inquiry regarding the nature of his volunteer work.
In the 1993 newspaper op-ed, which dismissed the recently signed Oslo Accords, Shapiro wrote, “Despite my skepticism as a Jew and a past volunteer in the Israeli army, I strongly hope and pray that this ‘peace plan’ will be successful.”
While Shapiro’s Jewish roots are well established — including his enrollment at the Akiba Hebrew Academy in Philadelphia — the op-ed from his time at the University of Rochester appeared to be the first revelation of such direct ties to the IDF.
“Palestinians will not coexist peacefully,” Shapiro also wrote in the op-ed titled “Peace Not Possible.”
“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,” added the then-20-year-old student.
The article resurfaced days before Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is slated to announce her running mate. Shapiro has faced an aggressive campaign from far-left and anti-Israel activists, who have branded him “Genocide Josh” and warned Harris against picking him. Those critics have also faced charges of antisemitism, as Shapiro’s more recent views are no less critical of Israel than others on the shortlist who are not Jewish.
Asked about the op-ed at a press conference earlier Friday, Shapiro said, “I was 20.”
“I have said for years, years before October 7, that I favor a two-state solution — Israelis and Palestinians living peacefully side-by-side, being able to determine their own futures and their own destiny,” he added.
Earlier this year Shapiro called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “one of the worst leaders of all time and has steered Israel in a wrong direction.”
In a separate statement to the Inquirer responding to backlash over Shapiro’s views on Palestinians when he was in college, his spokesperson said, the governor “has built close, meaningful, informative relationships with many Muslim-American, Arab-American, Palestinian Christian, and Jewish community leaders all across Pennsylvania.
“The governor greatly values their perspectives and the experiences he has learned from over the years — and as a result, as with many issues, his views on the Middle East have evolved into the position he holds today,” the spokesperson added.
Harris plans to meet in person this weekend with Shapiro and the other top contenders vying to become her presidential running mate for November’s election as she nears a final decision on her pick, according to two sources familiar with the process.
On Friday the Democratic candidate met one-on-one with US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, one of the leading contenders, and the meeting lasted roughly 90 minutes, according to two other sources familiar with the meeting.
Harris is expected to make her choice by Monday ahead of her first public appearance with the new vice presidential nominee on Tuesday in Philadelphia. The Harris campaign is also planning a social media announcement featuring the duo, officials familiar with the planning told Reuters.
Other contenders include US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the sources said.
Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally to support Illinois Democrats with Gov. JB Pritzker on Sept. 16, 2022, in Chicago.
Some candidates on the shortlist have already rescheduled or delayed plans over the next few days, indicating they needed to clear some time for a face-to-face interview.
Shapiro, for example, canceled planned fundraisers in the Hamptons this weekend aimed at raising money for his PAC, or political action committee. “His schedule has changed and he is no longer traveling to the Hamptons this weekend,” his press secretary Manuel Bonder said.
Harris and her new running mate are expected to embark on a four-day tour of battleground states on Tuesday that will take them to six other locations including western Wisconsin, Detroit and Las Vegas. The first stop, Philadelphia, has fueled speculation that Shapiro is a frontrunner, but the campaign has warned against reading too much into the choice.
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