Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and GOP opponent Stacy Garrity faced off on Wednesday in a heated gubernatorial debate, clashing over most policy issues \u2014 with the notable exception of Israel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to recognize the anniversary of the Hamas attacks, where 1,200 innocent people were killed, including 49 Americans,\u201d said Garrity, referring to the third anniversary of Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to remember the lives that were stolen, the families that were changed forever, and the Americans that didn\u2019t make it home,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Garrity, Pennsylvania\u2019s state treasurer, has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, Shapiro has a 25 percentage point<\/a> lead in a poll released Wednesday. Both candidates won their primaries uncontested<\/a> in May, and both have been outspoken against antisemitism.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shapiro, who himself is Jewish, likewise recognized \u201cthe third anniversary of the October 7 massacre\u201d at the debate. He recalled how \u201cHamas, a terrorist organization, broke into Israel and murdered 1,200 innocents, took over 250 hostage, including many Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a moment where my heart stands with the people of Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cMy heart stands with the Jewish community, who I know are grieving as a result of this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a moment where we need to stand together against terrorism, against hate and against antisemitism,\u201d the governor added.<\/p>\n Although the candidates shared similar perspectives on Israel during Wednesday\u2019s debate, they clashed on numerous other topics, including the death penalty, voter identification, taxes and tariffs.<\/p>\n Asked by the debate moderator about the plunging support for Israel in the Democratic Party, Shapiro replied that he has \u201cbeen very, very consistent\u201d in both his \u201clove of Israel\u201d and his disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shapiro then noted that Israelis will head to the polls in just a few weeks to choose their next leader. He expressed hope that they would not elect Netanyahu, whom he said \u201chas led Israel down a very dangerous and isolated path.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI want America to have a strong relationship with Israel and with the Israeli government,\u201d Shapiro added. \u201cThat\u2019s not possible right now with the Netanyahu government in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro, one of the most prominent Jewish Democrats nationwide, was among the final candidates considered by Kamala Harris in her vice-presidential search in the 2024 election. He is also seen as a possible 2028 presidential hopeful.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Shapiro has also faced the challenges posed by increasing antisemitism in America. During Harris\u2019s search, for example, a website and social media feed labeled him<\/a> \u201cNo Genocide Josh\u201d over his support for Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n In April 2025, an arsonist set fire<\/a> to Shapiro\u2019s house just hours after his family had conducted a Passover seder. In 2018, while Shapiro was serving as Pennsylvania\u2019s attorney general, a terrorist killed 11 people<\/a> and injured six others at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh..\u00a0<\/p>\n Garrity, meanwhile, has more than tripled Pennsylvania\u2019s investment in Israel bonds in her current role. She invested $20 million after the Oct. 7 attack and another $35 million in July 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the Year Turns, Support the Journalism You Trust. JTA covers the stories shaping Jewish life around the world \u2014 with the depth this moment calls for. As you reflect on the year ahead, consider a gift that keeps independent Jewish journalism strong.<\/p>\n \n\t\tOne-time \tChoose an amount to donate<\/p>\n \n\t\t$72$180$360$500\t<\/p>\n \tSupport Us<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and GOP opponent Stacy Garrity faced off on Wednesday in a heated gubernatorial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[124331,33,28,30,29],"class_list":["post-302146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-debates","tag-josh-shapiro","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\t\tMonthly\n\t<\/p>\n