Palestinians ‘too battle-minded’: Gov. Shapiro’s college article prompts backlash

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s college newspaper article from 1993 resurfaced this week and has caused considerable backlash - with some taking offense to his claim that Palestinians are “too battle-minded” to coexist with Israel, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Shapiro has made a number of headlines recently as he is thought to be among Vice President Kamala Harris's picks for a potential running mate in her presidential bid.

The article ‘Peace not possible,’ published in the University of Rochester’s Campus Times, is now three decades old. It expressed opinions contradicting the official’s current stance. One key issue is that he now claims to support a two-state solution and, by extension, the establishment of a Palestinian state.

At 20 years old, Shapiro claimed, “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.”

The article pre-dated Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which was subsequently taken over by the Hamas terror group. The article also predated the signing of the Abraham Accords.

Shapiro distances himself from previous stance

Shapiro’s spokesperson, Manuel Bonder, told the Inquirer that the governor’s stance has changed and confirmed that Shapiro fully backs a two-state solution.

“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 — and as a result, as with many issues, his views on the Middle East have evolved into the position he holds today.”

“I was 20,” Shapiro said at a conference in Delaware County. “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.”