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Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence was firebombed by a suspect who explicitly targeted him over Middle East policy, yet major news networks have largely avoided connecting the attack to rising antisemitism. The assailant, Cody Balmer, used Molotov cocktails to attack the governor’s mansion hours after Shapiro hosted a Passover Seder, declaring he wanted to stop Shapiro’s “plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people” . Balmer admitted he would’ve attacked Shapiro with a hammer if he’d found him inside .
While outlets like ABC and CBS reported basic facts about the arson, they downplayed Balmer’s antisemitic motivations and Shapiro’s status as America’s first Jewish governor elected statewide. Networks focused instead on the suspect’s mental health history and Shapiro’s calls for generic “unity” , rather than condemning the hate-driven nature of the attack. Notably absent was coverage of Shapiro’s strong pro-Israel record or his previous clashes with anti-Israel activists at the University of Pennsylvania .
The media silence stands in stark contrast to their coverage of other political violence. When a Trump supporter mailed pipe bombs in 2018, every major network ran wall-to-wall coverage for weeks. Here, they’ve buried the story despite it being the most severe attack on a sitting governor’s life since 1983. This double standard reinforces conservative concerns about institutional bias – violence against progressive figures gets framed as systemic threats, while attacks on center-right Jewish leaders get minimized as isolated incidents .
Shapiro’s own party bears responsibility. Democrats like Chuck Schumer waited four days before weakly requesting a hate crime probe , refusing to name the antisemitism fueling this attack. Meanwhile, the Biden administration remains silent as anti-Israel mobs terrorize Jewish communities nationwide. If a MAGA extremist had firebombed a Democratic governor’s home over border policy, MSNBC panels would’ve declared it proof of “stochastic terrorism” from conservative rhetoric.
This selective outrage isn’t just dishonest – it’s dangerous. By refusing to call out anti-Jewish hatred, the media and political Left enable further violence. Shapiro survived this assault, but the next target might not be so lucky. Until leaders across the spectrum forcefully condemn antisemitism without caveats, more radicals like Balmer will feel emboldened to act.
