Who is Josh Shapiro, the 'pro-Israel' frontrunner tipped to be Kamala Harris’ running mate?

Since US President Joe Biden announced he will no longer seek re-election, questions have emerged over who Kamala Harris will pick as her vice-presidential running mate if she becomes the Democratic presidential nominee for the 2024 election.

One potential candidate is Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who was quick to endorse Harris for president with several bookies putting him as odds on favourite to join her on the Democrat ticket. 

Other names that have been floated as possible running mates for Harris include Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, Maryland governor Wes Moore and transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. However, according to a poll conducted by BlueLabs, Shapiro was shown as the candidate who performed the strongest and is reportedly already being vetted by top Democrat donors as Harris's running mate.

The New Arab takes a look at who is Josh Shapiro and where he stands on Israel and Palestine.

Who is Josh Shapiro?

Shapiro was born in 1973 into a Masorti Jewish household and attended a Jewish day school.

According to Israeli media, he and his mother were active in the Free Soviet Jewry movement, which campaigned for the right of Jews in the Soviet Union to emigrate.

If chosen, Shapiro would be the first Jewish candidate for Vice President since Joe Lieberman’s unsuccessful run with Democratic nominee Al Gore in 2000.

After graduating from law at Georgetown, Shapiro was elected in 2020 as Pennsylvania Attorney General where he led investigations into sexual abuse in the Catholic church and also tackled issues regarding education, healthcare access and abortion rights.

Shapiro quickly travelled up through Pennsylvania government to his eventual successful run for governor of the state in 2023.

Support for Israel

Despite Shapiro's support for liberal causes and policies, his staunch support for Israel amid the brutal war on Gaza has attracted huge attention in recent months,

This is significant given Biden's strong support for Israel could lose him votes in key swing states like Michigan, which has a significant Arab and Muslim American population, as well as among younger voters, people of colour, and progressives. 

In December 2023, a few months after Israel launched its war on Gaza, Shapiro reiterated his support for Israel's military’s actions, which has so far killed at least 39,000 people.

"Israel not only has a right, they have a responsibility to rid the region of Hamas and the terror that Hamas can perpetrate," he said at the time.

Some have accused Shapiro of stifling free speech, after he ordered state employees to avoid "scandalous" conduct over pro-Gaza protests.

He also quietly revised his administration’s code of conduct, so that "scandalous or disgraceful behaviour" could result in being disciplined or termination, with pro-Palestinian employees thought to be the target of this policy.

Pro-Palestine and Muslim American groups raised alarm over the decision, saying it could be unconstitutional and curtail free speech.

The vaguely worded revision said that it applies to anyone "on or off duty", without specifying how it would be enforced.

Opposition to ceasefire

Shapiro has also been criticised for refusing to call for a ceasefire in Gaza despite children being among the biggest victims of the assault.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement in April claiming that his words and actions have created much harm in Muslim, Arab and pro-Palestine communities.

"At a time when governors of California and New Jersey have underlined in public statements their support for a ceasefire in Gaza, Gov. Shapiro has failed to do that," the statement read.

"His attacks on academic freedom, intentionally depicting protests in a negative light, failure to care for and listen to Palestinian Pennsylvanians whose families are being massacred day in and out by Israeli government, and his behind-the-scenes antagonization of community organizations cannot be ignored and easily forgiven," it continued.