Josh Shapiro’s Israel position, explained

If Vice President Kamala Harris selects Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her running-mate — and if she succeeds in defeating Donald Trump in the November general election to become the 47th president — Shapiro will be in a position to wield significant influence over a wide range of issues, including foreign policy.

The prospect of his selection as Harris’ vice presidential pick has alarmed pro-Palestinian groups — seemingly because of Shapiro’s Jewish heritage and because of an op-ed he penned for his college newspaper at age 20 in which he wrote that peace would “never come” to the Middle East. In that op-ed, he described Palestinians as “too battle-minded” to succeed in forming a lasting peace with Israel.

Shapiro has since made a point of repudiating the views he expressed in that article, which was first surfaced by the Philadelphia Inquirer late last week. He told reporters that he no longer feels that way and stressed his young age at the time he authored the opinion piece.

“I was 20,” he said. “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.”

A spokesperson for the governor, Manuel Bonder, said in a statement that Shapiro’s views have changed in the intervening decades and noted his support for a two-state solution to the long-standing conflict.

“Governor Shapiro has built close, meaningful, informative relationships with many Muslim-American, Arab-American, Palestinian Christian, and Jewish community leaders all across Pennsylvania,” Bonder said. “The governor greatly values their perspectives and the experiences he has learned from over the years —