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Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has established a clear pattern: When confronted with evidence that the Muslim institutions he platforms are deeply hostile to Israel – and often to Jews themselves – he shrugs, smears the messenger, and moves forward anyway. That is precisely what took place this Thanksgiving, when Shapiro was scheduled to participate at an event alongside Muslim Society of Delaware Valley (MSDV) radical imam Basheer Bilaal.
After being shown incontrovertible proof about Bilaal’s anti-Israel extremism, Shapiro’s office ignored the facts and responded by carelessly dismissing the source as “biased.” The source was an article written by this author and published in FrontPage Magazine, discussing the November 25th interfaith Thanksgiving service that was to feature both Shapiro and Bilaal and which documented all of the disturbing evidence about Bilaal and his associates.
A “Peaceful” Service with a Hateful Imam
The interfaith service was held at Old York Road Temple Beth Am, a Reform Jewish temple located in Abington, Pennsylvania. Apart from Governor Shapiro, the event featured speeches made by U.S. Representative Madeleine Dean and various members of faith. The affair went off without incident – though a number of attending Muslims donned keffiyehs, garments widely viewed as symbols of Palestinian violence – amidst no visible security.
The speeches were innocuous, including the one made by Imam Bilaal, who called for “spreading the peace.” Yet, recent speeches made by Bilaal have been anything but peaceful.
Following the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, Bilaal appeared repeatedly at anti-Israel rallies. One, a December 10, 2023 demonstration outside the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Bilaal prayed for Allah to “liberate… Jerusalem, Gaza and Philistine” and denounced world leaders, including Americans, for “contributing to this genocide.” The watchdog group Canary Mission described the rally as “pro-Hamas,” as speakers promoted “resistance” and chanted for Israel’s destruction.
Days later, Bilaal headlined a “Gala for Gaza” fundraiser, where he attacked what he called “the Zionist lobby” and pushed conspiratorial claims. At the 2025 “Gala for Gaza,” Bilaal called for “complete liberation of Gaza and Philistine.” Both galas were sponsored by Human Appeal, an organization alleged of having deep ties to Hamas.
Bilaal’s MSDV includes the Islamic Cultural Center of Willow Grove (ICCWG). In March 2024, ICCWG hosted Islamist lecturer Sami Hamdi, who championed the October 7 massacre, telling his fellow Muslims to “celebrate the victory.”
A History of Cavorting with Radical Mosques
It is not the first time Josh Shapiro has courted controversy by aligning himself with fanatical Muslim institutions.
In April 2023, Shapiro addressed an interfaith gathering at the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley (MALV). MALV has been involved in numerous rallies that have supported terror, spread antisemitism, and denied Israel’s existence. Like ICCWG, MALV has hosted October 7 fan Sami Hamdi.
In March 2025, Shapiro attended a Ramadan iftar at the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society (AAIS) in Philadelphia, delivering a signed proclamation for Arab American Heritage Month and announcing a $5 million state grant for the mosque – described at the time as the largest ever awarded by the Commonwealth to a Muslim organization.
AAIS has been home to the worst of anti-Semitism. In February 2019, Imam Abdelmohsen Abouhatab, during a sermon at AAIS, told the congregation, “The Jews are the vilest people in terms of their moral values, their nature,” and railed against “Jewish media,” calling it “nefarious.” According to the nonprofit MEMRI, AAIS has played host to “several anti-Semitic sermons” delivered by Abouhatab.
The mosque also openly rejects Israel’s existence. In March 2024, AAIS’s Facebook profile picture featured a map of Israel covered completely in a Palestinian flag.
Josh Shapiro’s Dangerous Political Convenience
At a moment when antisemitism is rising across the country, elected officials don’t have the luxury of pretending not to see what’s directly in front of them. When political leaders choose to stand beside individuals who embrace “resistance” or traffic in anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric, they’re not promoting unity – they’re legitimizing terror and bigotry.
For a governor who frequently invokes his Jewish identity as proof of his moral clarity, these choices weaken confidence in his willingness to confront antisemitism and protect the very community he claims to defend. When the same leader directs state funding to institutions with records of extremism and then appears alongside their representatives, it stops resembling genuine interreligious dialogue and starts looking like political calculation.
What should have been a moment of togetherness, instead, confirmed that even the clearest red flags can be ignored when politics demand it. Featuring a figure with a documented record of radical Islamic activism undermined the event’s purpose, and dismissing accurate reporting as “biased” didn’t change the facts – it only revealed a willingness to overlook them.
Confronting Rabbi Leib
Following the Thanksgiving event, the venue held a reception, during which a colleague of this author spoke with the temple’s rabbi, South African–born Robert Leib.
When presented with information about Imam Bilaal’s extremist background and record of inflammatory activity, Rabbi Leib acknowledged that he had not conducted any research into Bilaal prior to the invitation. He responded with a show of shock and disbelief, stating (paraphrased): “I can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it. I never would have invited him into my synagogue, if that were the case.”
Rabbi Leib’s failure to perform basic due diligence reflects a broader and troubling trend within segments of the Jewish community: a willingness – often in the name of interfaith outreach – to overlook or minimize the ideological motivations and affiliations of individuals whose agendas are deeply hostile to Jewish interests. A cursory online search would have revealed Imam Bilaal’s extensive links to pro-jihad and openly anti-Jewish organizations, at home and abroad.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
