Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told former Vice President Kamala Harris that he “flatly” would not apologize for statements he made about pro-Palestinian protesters at Penn, according to an early release of his memoir.
The conversation reportedly took place two years ago when Harris vetted Shapiro as a possible vice presidential candidate for her 2024 presidential bid. In the memoir — which is set to be released later this month — Shapiro wrote that Harris and members of her campaign asked if he would apologize for several of his comments about the April 2024 Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
Over the past two years, Shapiro — who also serves as an ex officio member of the University Board of Trustees — repeatedly criticized the responses of universities nationwide to campus antisemitism. In April 2024, he called responses by university leaders “unacceptable” and said the government should intervene when university actions are insufficient.
“If the universities, in accordance with their policies, can’t guarantee the safety and security and well-being of the students, then I think it is incumbent upon a local mayor or local governor or local town councilor, whoever is the local leadership there, to step in and enforce the law,” Shapiro said in April 2024.
That same month, Shapiro appeared to compare campus protesters to members of the Ku Klux Klan in an interview with CNN.
“Governor Shapiro wrote a very personal book about his faith, his family, and the people of Pennsylvania he has learned from and fought for throughout his life in public service,” Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder wrote in response to The Daily Pennsylvanian’s request for comment. “The 2024 election is one small part of his much broader story — and the Governor looks forward to sharing much more about this book and the stories within it very soon.”
In May 2024, Shapiro called on Penn to disband the encampment and indicated that the University failed its “moral responsibility and a legal responsibility to keep their students safe and free from discrimination.”
At the time, the encampment drew criticism from Penn's Jewish community, University donors, and alumni.
Months later, Shapiro said that Penn had “lost its way” when handling antisemitism on campus. He attributed the issues on campuses to poor leadership, clarifying that the incidents that occurred at universities “really didn’t have a lot to do with the students.”
“I think it is important that university leaders are holding faculty accountable as well so that they are teaching actual facts and not encouraging students to break the rules,” Shapiro said at the time.
Documents later acquired by The Daily Pennsylvanian chronicled Shapiro’s involvement with Penn’s response to campus antisemitism.
During fall 2023, Shapiro invoked a long-unused University statute that allows the governor of Pennsylvania to appoint a nonvoting observer to Penn’s Board of Trustees. He selected 1982 College graduate Robert Fox, whom he also appointed as a nonvoting member on the University’s Task Force on Antisemitism.
Over the encampment’s 16-day timespan, Penn sent the Governor’s Office negotiation documents, names of protesters, and other operational details. University officials and Shapiro’s team continued to correspond even after the encampment ended.
Documents showed that Shapiro and Fox pushed for the firing of one University professor and the public condemnation of another. The two also embraced an expansive definition of “antisemitic speech,” and intervened in the University’s January 2024 election for the chair of the Board of Trustees.
Shapiro’s upcoming book, titled “Where We Keep the Light,” will be released on Jan. 27. On Jan. 8, he announced his campaign for re-election at a rally in Philadelphia.
Senior reporter Arti Jain covers state and local politics and can be reached at jain@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies economics and political science. Follow her on X @arti_jain_.
