The attack on Shapiro's home didn't happen in a vacuum

Antisemitism is a threat to democracy. We must confront it and stamp it out.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and agricultural leaders visit Penn England Farms in Blair County on March 26.

By Amy Spitalnick

New reports suggest that the man who firebombed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home on the first night of Passover targeted the governor because of his perceived views on Israel and the Palestinians. The attacker also allegedly planned to beat the governor with a hammer and had espoused anti-Biden views.

We should make no mistake: Firebombing a Jewish elected official’s home because of his support for Israel is antisemitism. Period.

This didn’t happen in a vacuum. This is the sad and inevitable result of broader antisemitic efforts to target Jewish Americans in the name of supporting Palestinian rights—including deliberate efforts targeting Shapiro over the past year.

It is also part of a pattern of increasingly normalized hate and political violence directed at public officials and institutions, driven by conspiracy theories and anti-democratic extremism— and emboldened by elected leaders who refuse to unequivocally condemn it.

Even as we await more details on the motive, this attack exacerbated significant fears in the Jewish community at a time of rising antisemitism, which includes the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history six years ago in Pittsburgh. The images of the room in which the Shapiro family hosted their seder just hours earlier and the Haggadahs they used—all now burned and destroyed—elicited visceral feelings for many Jewish Americans.

Shapiro has been on the receiving end of this rising antisemitism from across the political spectrum. As a Jewish official under consideration for Kamala Harris’ vice president, he was singled out as “Genocide Josh” despite having views on Israel that align with most moderate Democrats. Some people are now celebrating the arson attack, arguing Shapiro had it coming because of his support for Israel.

President Donald Trump attacked Shapiro last year as a “highly overrated Jewish governor,” part of a broader attack on Jewish Democrats during the campaign that was aimed at characterizing them as “disloyal” and in need of having their “head examined” for refusing to support his reelection. The president’s response thus far to the attack on Shapiro has been to dismiss it as a “whack job” and to make it about himself.

Meanwhile, anti-government, political, and hate-fueled violence has been on the rise. In the past few years, we’ve witnessed a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a plot to kidnap the Michigan governor, a violent attack on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their California home, two assassination attempts against Trump, and countless other threats against government officials and political candidates. This comes alongside a broader rise in violent extremism, including a cycle of deadly white supremacist attacks in Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, Poway, El Paso, Buffalo, and elsewhere, many fueled by the “Great Replacement” lie—as well as ever-increasing antisemitic and broader hate crimes. Conspiracy theories rooted in antisemitic tropes and lies have now been wholly mainstreamed on social media, in our politics, and throughout our society.

So, it’s sadly no surprise that we’ve now seen a Jewish governor and his family violently attacked in their home. I’m grateful that the governor and his family are safe. And now this must be universally and unequivocally condemned by leaders—from the president on down.

It is a deeply disturbing moment to be a Jew in America, as we see antisemitism used as a tool to threaten our communities and undermine democracy and the rule of law.

Already rising antisemitism skyrocketed after Oct. 7, 2023, targeting and marginalizing Jewish students, communities, and organizations—now seemingly leading to a direct violent attack on a Jewish official.

Meanwhile, increasingly normalized antisemitic and racist conspiracy theories about “invasion” and “replacement” are underpinning dehumanizing and dangerous policies and a broader cycle of violence and extremism—all as our community’s legitimate concerns about antisemitism are exploited to undermine democratic norms and rights and our academic institutions.

The path forward is one in which our leaders across the political spectrum call out antisemitism no matter where it exists. One in which we advance broad understanding of antisemitism— distinguishing between criticism of Israeli policy and attacks on Jews and rejecting the antisemitic conspiracy theories that have become so mainstreamed in our politics. One in which our core democratic norms and values are protected, rather than allowing anti-government and anti-democratic extremism to become further normalized. One in which we can build strong, inclusive coalitions to address the crisis of hate-fueled and political violence.

That’s the work we’re committed to at this tenuous moment—because our safety and our democracy depend on it.

Amy Spitalnick is CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

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