ROSH HASHANAH 5786 SECTION A, PAGE 6
By Shira Li-Bartov
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has delivered her endorsement in the New York City mayoral race, backing Zohran Mamdani in a New York Times op-ed on Sunday, Sept. 14.
Her endorsement comes amid a string of polls predicting Mamdani’s victory with 50 days to the election.
It also follows months of questions about how the governor, a Democrat who calls herself a “staunch capitalist” and supporter of Israel, would approach a democratic socialist who plans to tax the rich and has vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City.
Hochul said she reached her decision after months of conversations with Mamdani, which gave her confidence that overrode their “disagreements.” She emphasized that Mamdani had assured her of his commitment to Jewish New Yorkers.
“We discussed the need to combat the rise of anti-Semitism urgently and unequivocally. I’ve been glad to see him meet with Jewish leaders across the city, listening and addressing their concerns directly,” she said.
The statement marks a departure from remarks in July, when Hochul chastised Mamdani for having “a lot of healing to do with the Jewish community.”
Hochul did not address Mamdani’s plans for rent control, increased taxes on the wealthy and free food stores.
Mamdani has said that he has softened some of his stances.
Mamdani declined to condemn the anti-Israel slogan “globalize the intifada” during the primary. He still has not condemned it, but he has in recent months said he would “discourage” the language and does not use it himself,
Pro-Palestinian activists argue the phrase represents a nonviolent call for liberation.
Many Jews and other critics recall that the first intifada, which began in 1987, launched a wave of terror attacks against Israelis; and the second intifada, 2000-2005, left more than 1,000 Israeli civilians dead in pizza parlors, buses, public streets, Passover seders and elsewhere.
Hochul also said she shared Mamdani’s goal of addressing New York City’s affordability crisis.
She said that he agreed on her priorities of giving the police “every resource to keep our streets and subways safe” and hiring a “strong” police commissioner.
“I urged him to ensure that there is strong leadership at the helm of the NYPD — and he agreed,” she wrote.
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican who is likely to challenge Hochul in next year’s gubernatorial election, declared that Hochul now owns “every radical position” of Mamdani’s, including “every heinous pro-Hamas anti-Semitic position.”
The left flank of the Democratic party had been pressuring Hochul, along with other Democratic leaders, to rally behind Mamdani.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New Yorkers, have yet to make an endorsement in the race.
The IJN added to this story.
