Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that some of his more left-leaning mayoral race rivals have aligned themselves with “forces of antisemitism,” an accusation that sparked immediate and strong pushback.
Cuomo leveled the broadside at his opponents during an evening speech at the West Side Institutional Synagogue in Manhattan. His targets included City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is Jewish.
A significant portion of Cumo’s remarks were dedicated to the Democratic Socialists of America, a left-wing group he argued are part of the “forces of antisemitism and pro-Palestinian policies” stoking hate against Jews in New York City amid the Israel-Hamas war.
“Incredibly, many major New York City politicians are their disciples,” said Cuomo, who isn’t Jewish and resigned as governor in 2021 amid sexual misconduct accusations he denies. Cuomo then turned his attention to three of his opponents in the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary.
Cuomo, who’s polling as the front-runner in the mayoral race, first lumped in City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who isn’t a DSA member and widely seen as a political moderate, with the lefty group, faulting her for being “the first speaker in the history of New York to fail to visit Israel.”
Lander, who’s not a DSA member, either, and one of the only Jewish candidates in the race, is also helping advance DSA’s purportedly antisemitic agenda, Cuomo claimed, pointing to the comptroller’s decision to pull some New York City pension fund investments out of Israeli government bonds amid its military campaign in Gaza.
Finally, he took aim at Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a DSA member who has recently climbed in the mayoral race polls as he courts significant support from younger voters.
“The DSA charter calls for the end of American aid to Israel and does not recognize the existence of the State of Israel,” Cuomo said. “Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a DSA devotee, proposed a bill that would revoke the not-for-profit designation of any organization that aided Israel.”
“Remember this is happening here,” the ex-gov continued. “These are New York City officials who are aiding and supporting the most aggressive anti-Israel policies. We cannot allow this political movement to continue unopposed.”
The campaigns for the three mayoral candidates Cuomo targeted swiftly pushed back.
“Andrew Cuomo does not care about antisemitism,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Andrew Cuomo cares about one thing and one thing only: himself. And he’s willing to weaponize any issue, lie about any person, or take advantage of any vulnerable group if he deems it politically convenient.”
Lander campaign spokeswoman Dora Pekec connected Cuomo’s rhetoric with his “disgusting history of exploiting Jewish suffering for his political gain.”
Cuomo’s reference to Adrienne Adams appeared related to her decision in 2022 to not go with some other Council members on a trip to Israel sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
Lupe Todd-Medina, a rep for the speaker’s mayoral campaign, called it “rich” for Cuomo to reference that trip, given that he launched a pro-Israel group last year that fell short on several promises for action.
“Meanwhile, Adrienne secured millions in real funding to fight anti-Semitism in New York City,” Todd-Medina said. “Division and name-calling might be Andrew Cuomo’s way, but they won’t solve a single New Yorker’s problem. No drama, no scandal — just competence and integrity, that’s how Adrienne leads, and that’s what New York City needs.”
