MELVILLE, New York — Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family celebrated the first night of Passover with a seder at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg. He, his wife Lori, and their children finally went to sleep around 1:00am, only to be awakened an hour later when a state trooper assigned to security woke everyone and rushed them out of the house because of a fire. Thankfully no one was hurt, and it was discovered that the fire resulted from an arson attack.
The attacker referenced Palestinians as a motive for his assault on the residence of the Jewish governor, saying that Shapiro needed to know that the attacker “will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.”
Shapiro was raised in an observant Jewish home and attended Jewish day schools. His family celebrated Shabbat dinners together, a tradition he carries on with his family in the Governor’s Residence, where the Shapiros arranged for the kitchen to be kosher.
Shapiro, who was on Kamala Harris’s short list for a running mate, is a strong supporter of Israel, and he says that his Jewish upbringing guides him in his life, noting that “I think we all have a responsibility to do tikkun olam and to do our part, and that’s what my faith has taught me.”
Last year Donald Trump referred to Shapiro as “the highly overrated Jewish Governor of the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” to which Shapiro responded, “He’s someone who has routinely peddled antisemitic tropes like this.”
Where did Josh Shapiro propose to his wife, who he first met in 9th grade at Akiba Hebrew Academy (now known as Barrack Hebrew Academy)?