New York State Governor Kathy Hochul was not afraid to give her own opinion on the Israeli elections, sharing her hope that incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu loses today's elections.
In an interview with Politico published today (Tuesday), Hochul said that her job as governor would be "a lot easier" if Netanyahu loses, implicitly blaming the Israeli leader for the rising antisemitism in the state she governs.
“I went to Israel right after Oct. 7. I saw a lot of pain there. But I actually cautioned the government there, in private conversations, not to overreach," Hochul said. “The world is with you when it comes to the brutal assault by a terrorist organization known as Hamas on innocent Israeli people. An overreach could change that dynamic, and that’s what’s happened."
“A lot of people are anxious about antisemitism, which is sky-high right now," she added, “And I take that personally, because I represent everyone."
Expressing her desire for a Two State Solution, she stated: "I believe we have to get people of goodwill who can make this happen, and as long as Netanyahu is sitting there, that is not in his interest to do that. It’s just not, and it won’t happen."
Hochul claimed to be doing her best to protect Jewish New Yorkers from the wave of antisemitic violence, saying: "Those of us who are just trying to just do the right thing and let the Jewish people know I’m protecting them in the city, that I have to worry about security grants to protect synagogues and yeshivas from violence. There was another attack recently."
Hochul has faced criticism for her handling of antisemitism in New York, in particular her refusal to criticize New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for antisemitic statements and actions, including his use of the anniversary of the October 7 massacre to publish a statement that devoted significantly more space to spreading falsehoods about Israel's retaliation than condemning the atrocities committed by the Hamas terrorist organization that day.
Yesterday, CUNY Law Professor and founder of Students and Faculty for Equality at CUNY Jeffrey Lax published a piece in the New York Post accusing Hochul of ignoring the harassment of Jews at a real estate meeting in the Riverdale neighborhood in the Bronx by the same organization of anti-Israel activists that was behind several antisemitic incidents and demonstrations targeting Jews at synagogues in New York City.