Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro addresses Eradicate Hate Global Summit
“I believe in America,” he said. “We are stronger than hate.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told those attending the Eradicate Hate Global Summit that political violence is never OK.
“There is a better way,” he said. “In Pennsylvania we have shown a path forward.”
Shapiro spoke Sept. 15 of the unity displayed following a fire at the governor’s residence, set during an alleged assassination attempt in the early morning hours of April 14, the second day of Passover.
He noted that former Pennsylvania Govs. Tom Wolf, Tom Corbett, Ed Rendell, Mark Schweiker and Tom Ridge, along with their respective first ladies, as well as members of Dick Thornburgh’s and Bob Casey Sr.’s families, all came to the governor’s residence in a show of support following the attack. The cadre was a mix of Democrats and Republicans.
Quoting Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn, Shapiro said the gathering was “an example for the nations.”
Political violence, he asserted, doesn’t only affect those targeted and their loved ones; it affects us all.
“It tears at the fabric of American society and the fundamental principles this nation was founded upon,” he said.
Shapiro highlighted other recent political violence, including the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Stephen Hemsley, the assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the murder of Charlie Kirk.
While each circumstance was different, he said, the common thread was violence motivated by political differences.
That violence, Shapiro said, makes everyone less safe and shouldn’t be used as a pretext for more violence.
Instead, additional opportunities need to be created for “peaceful and respectful dialogue respecting each other’s fundamental rights as Americans,” he said.
The restriction of free speech, censorship and prosecuting constitutionally protected speech will only erode freedoms and deepen mistrust, he continued.
Pennsylvanians, Shapiro stressed, must be safe to exercise their fundamental freedoms. He highlighted the work the state has done under his leadership, including funding 1,500 more state troopers and local law enforcement officers, and giving $15 million to churches, synagogues, mosques and other nonprofits to help cover security expenses.
The governor also spoke of the need to protect children and young people online.
Those who feel abandoned by government, he said, often find refuge “in the dark corners of the internet where their righteous frustration is taken advantage of and used to foment hate.”
To help combat that, he said, Pennsylvania is processing driving permits and licenses more quickly, investing in education, delivering free breakfasts, providing more mental health support and access to vo-tech classes for students, and creating additional economic opportunities in the state.
These initiatives, he acknowledged, won’t end political violence but may convince people that the government can work for them.
As is often the case when addressing political and hate-inspired violence, Shapiro recalled the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the most violent antisemitic incident in United States history, and the unity following the attack.
“I believe in America,” he said. “We are stronger than hate.”
After stressing the need for unity, Shapiro went on to criticize the Trump administration, referencing the president’s response to the Charlie Kirk assassination.
“Unfortunately, some — from the dark corners of the internet all the way to the Oval Office — want to cherry pick which instances of political violence they want to condemn,” he said.
In a news conference following his address, Shapiro said that Trump had failed a “leadership” and “morality” test, which “makes us all less safe.”
Asked by one reporter if Jewish leaders like Shapiro should be “calling out” violence like “the Israeli army moving into Gaza City,” the governor did not distinguish between actions taken during war and political violence. Instead, he said he has been “outspoken” about the fact that children in Gaza “need to be fed” and that “the violence needs to end, the hostages need to come home and this war needs to be over.”
Shapiro also criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he accused of “taking Israel down a very dark and dangerous path, isolating Israel in the world even more than they were before, which I think threatens Israel’s security.”
He went on to reiterate his belief in a two-state solution, and the idea that Israelis and Palestinians should live peacefully “side by side.”
When the Chronicle attempted to ask if comparing Israel’s military response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack to political violence in America might make Jewish Pittsburghers less safe, the governor declined to respond.
“I answered that question,” he replied, refusing to say more before moving on to other questions.
Shapiro’s address to the Eradicate Hate Global Summit was the first time a politician in office addressed the conference in its five-year history.
A day earlier, the summit announced a collaboration with the Counter Extremism Project on the Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization, in which the former residence of the concentration camp’s commandant will be converted to a center combatting extremism and violence.
More than 435 students and educators from 35 schools also convened at the Eradicate Hate Student Summit.
The Eradicate Hate Global Summit continues through Sept. 17. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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