The current war in Israel introduced many in the country to Ben Shapiro – an American political commentator wearing a kippah, who in the United States has long been considered one of the most prominent media figures. In honor of his 40th birthday, which he celebrates today, January 15, we used Claude and Forefront to introduce you to the small, big-spirited genius who is truly worshipped by the right in general and the Jewish-Israeli right in particular.
Shapiro was born in Los Angeles to a mother who was a senior executive at a Hollywood casting company and a composer father who wrote, among other things, the intro to Charlie Rose's talk show. At the time of his birth, the family belonged to the Conservative stream, but switched to the Orthodox stream when he was 9 years old.
Shapiro was considered a prodigy from an early age; He began playing the violin at an early age, was passionate about political debate and excelled in school—so much so that he jumped two grades and entered university at the age of just 16. At the age of 18, he graduated with honors with a degree in political science from UCLA, and at the age of 18 he graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, two of the most prestigious universities in the world. While in college, he began writing articles from a right-wing angle in the newspapers of his universities—and the articles attracted so much attention that at just 17 he became the youngest columnist in history whose columns were published in syndication—that is, in many newspapers by region—all over the country.
After graduation, he began an internship at a law firm, but quit after less than a year, started his own consulting firm and began editing the right-wing news site Breitbart, named after its founder Andrew Breitbart. At the same time, he founded a media review organization with Jeremy Boring, and wrote five books by the age of 23. That year, he and Boring founded The Daily Wire, a new right-wing news website where Shapiro has since hosted a hugely popular daily program that, like his columns, is also broadcast in syndication in many media outlets across the country, along with an online broadcast whose first hour is available for free on every possible platform and the second hour is available for a fee through the website or on paid radio stations. Since October 7, he has spoken frequently on the program about Israel, expressing unequivocal support for the Jewish state.
In 2011, he first received widespread media and public attention after a video of him arguing with Muslim students at UC Berkeley went viral. He became a regular interviewee on many television programs, mainly on Fox but also with Piers Morgan (then on CNN, and now broadcasts on British TalkTV, Fox Nation and Sky News Australia), and a sought-after lecturer at universities, and was considered a key spokesman in defending conservative ideas and supporting the State of Israel. He is known for his eloquence, quick speech, ease of pulling out facts and figures, and saying "facts don't care about your feelings," which he shoots students who claim his perceptions hurt their feelings. This led to controversy surrounding his performances, and universities often cancelled his invitation or forced him to lecture in remote, secure rooms for fear of riots.
In recent years, his media empire has expanded tremendously, now including original films, a new streaming service for kids and even a new comedy film about transgender issues in women's sports, which stars almost everyone at his company, including Shapiro himself. At the same time, he has already published 16 books, from the age of 17 to the present, two of which have so far been translated into Hebrew – "Thugs: How the Left's Culture of Silencing Works" (Sela Meir Publishing, 2019) and "The Right Side of History" (Matar Publishing, 2021). In addition, Sela Meir Press published as a booklet in 2019 his 2014 article "11 Rules for Arguing with Leftists and Tearing Them Up."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us