Cuomo polling second
(JTA) — Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who is polling second, has called for an end to the war in Gaza for the first time.
“There is no doubt that the people of New York and the nation see the continued carnage that is happening and are deeply, deeply disturbed and want it over, and believe it has gone on way too long,” Cuomo said in a New York Times interview published late Monday. He added, “It should end today. Return the hostages, end the violence. Today. I think it should have been over months ago.”
The comments marked a departure for Cuomo, who has long fashioned himself a “hyper-aggressive” supporter of Israel and has accused Zohran Mamdani of “fueling antisemitism” as the frontrunner wielded much stronger criticisms of Israel. After appearing to criticize Gaza’s aid crisis in August, Cuomo quickly clarified that it was just “some people” — not him personally — who questioned Israel’s conduct.
Cuomo’s latest comments come amid a historic decline in support for Israel among Democratic voters. They also come as polling shows that New York City voters strongly prefer Mamdani’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over Cuomo’s.
Elise Stefanik proposes legislation that would block Mamdani’s threat to arrest Netanyahu
(JTA) — Gov. Kathy Hochul may have endorsed Zohran Mamdani this week, but she’s not backing his pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon visiting New York City.
“I disagree with that,” Hochul told reporters on Tuesday. “And I also do not believe the mayor of New York or the NYPD have the legal authority to do so.”
Andrew Cuomo, the former governor seeking to defeat Mamdani as an independent, also slammed the threat against Netanyahu, which Mamdani says is needed so the city “stands up for international law.”
“That’s weaponizing the justice system,” Cuomo said at a press conference yesterday, according to Politico. “I don’t like you politically. I’m going to arrest you. That’s illegal, unconstitutional, anti-American, and it is the exact thing that we complain that the federal government does.” He added, “A mayor doesn’t do American foreign policy.”
Meanwhile, New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik introduced a bill yesterday to block any attempt by Mamdani to arrest Netanyahu. Her Sovereign Enforcement Integrity Act seeks to stop state and local law enforcement “from arresting foreign nationals within the United States solely on the basis of an indictment, warrant, or request issued by the International Criminal Court.” The United States is not party to the pact that created the court.
‘It is genocide,’ Bernie Sanders says about Gaza, becoming the first US senator to do so
(JTA) — Bernie Sanders has become the first U.S. senator to label Israel’s conduct in Gaza as a “genocide,” in an essay posted Wednesday to his Senate website.
“The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” Sanders wrote.
The essay came the same day that another Jewish member of Vermont’s delegation in Congress, Rep. Becca Balint, published her own op-ed calling Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide.
“As the granddaughter of a man murdered in the Holocaust, it is not easy for me to say that,” Balint wrote in the Courier, a nonprofit outlet focused on democracy. “But the trauma of the Holocaust serves as a reminder of the power of speaking out.”
Sanders and Balint, both progressives, are the first Jews in Congress to use the “genocide” term, as the war in Gaza nears its two-year mark. Previously, Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene were the only members of Congress to have done so publicly.
Sanders, an independent who leads the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, is a longtime critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the far-right ministers he has empowered in his current government. Sanders introduced legislation to halt arms sales to Israel, but he also drew criticism from some of his allies for being relatively slow to call for an end to the war.
Non-endorsement tracker
(JTA) — Mamdani got Gov. Kathy Hochul’s endorsement on Sunday — but other New York Democrats didn’t fall in line, highlighting the party’s internal tensions ahead of election day.
“I will not be endorsing Mamdani,” said Long Island Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi on Monday. “While I share his concern about the issue of affordability, I fundamentally disagree with his proposed solutions.”
Laura Gillen, another Democratic Long Island Rep., also issued an anti-endorsement. “I completely disagree with the Governor’s endorsement of Mr. Mamdani,” she said in a statement to Politico. “Long Islanders are already facing a cost-of-living crisis and the last thing they can afford is Zohran Mamdani’s reckless agenda.”
Top New York Democrats Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries are still staying quiet.
