Who would protect New York Jews better? Cuomo and Lander trade attacks on the campaign trail

By Jacob Kornbluh
April 2, 2025

Brad Lander is the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in New York City, while Andrew Cuomo has referred to himself as a Shabbos goy. Both are vying to lead the city, home to more Jews than any other city outside of Israel.

I joined both candidates on the campaign trail this week to hear their perspectives on combating the rise in antisemitism, a critical issue this year. Instead, I observed an exchange of barbs over who could be trusted more to protect the Jewish community, with accusations of abandoning Israel, and being disingenuous about fighting antisemitism.

The reason for these attacks: Both candidates are seeking to appeal to the Jewish electorate as the campaign for the June 24 Democratic primary kicks off. About two-thirds of New York’s voters are registered Democrats, making the party’s primary all but determinative of the November election.

Though Jews make up 12% of the city’s population, according to a recent Jewish Federation survey, their potential influence in the nine-person contest is even greater. About 800,000 people voted in the 2021 mayoral primary, and the margin of victory in the ranked-choice voting system was 7,000 votes.

What Cuomo and Lander said

Cuomo, delivering a 20-minute speech about his plan to counter antisemitism to some 150 people at the West Side Institutional Synagogue Tuesday evening, described Lander as a “far-left” politician who has aligned himself with those advocating for anti-Israel policies. He referenced a New York Post story that accused Lander, who oversees pension fund investments as comptroller, of investing only $1.7 million in Israel Bonds, a sharp drop from the $30 million invested in 1974.

Lander wasn’t Cuomo’s only target. He also singled out Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who has been steadily gaining in the polls in recent weeks, for authoring a bill to penalize charities supporting Israeli settlements, and NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams for declining to lead an educational mission to Israel in 2022.

But Lander was the only one who took the attack personally.

“A beyzer gzar zol er af dir kumen,” Lander said at a press conference in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning, using a Yiddish curse meaning “may an evil decree come upon him.” He implied that Cuomo was questioning his commitment to Israel as a Jew, comparing it to President Donald Trump’s remarks last month that Chuck Schumer — America’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official — had “become a Palestinian,” and “is not Jewish anymore.”

Video here pic.twitter.com/MM1eRVqZiQ

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) April 2, 2025

“Trump doesn’t get to tell Chuck Schumer how to be Jewish, and Andrew Cuomo doesn’t get to tell me how to be Jewish,” Lander said. “Non-Jews weaponizing antisemitism to score political points — especially, but not only, by attacking proud Jews — is offensive and dangerous.”

Cuomo denied he was going after Lander’s identity, and said he was challenging Lander for not coming clean about his association with the Democratic Socialists of America, which explicitly supports the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel.

Lander, who joined the DSA as a student at the University of Chicago in 1987, has said he still considers himself a member, though he isn’t officially recognized and did not receive their endorsement. “Can’t say I’ve paid my dues every single year, but Democratic Left has always found its way to my door,” he posted on X in 2020. Lander described himself as a Brooklyn Jewish Democratic Socialist in 2016.

Relying on the Orthodox community, a more conservative electorate that often votes in blocs based on rabbinic endorsements, and pro-Israel voters concerned about the pro-Palestinian campus protests, Cuomo also deployed an Orthodox surrogate to shape the narrative that Lander is anti-Israel. Assemblymember Sam Berger, who represents most of the Central Queens Jewish community, slammed Lander for “locking arms” with Mamdani as they arrived for an announcement by the progressive Working Families Party of a multi-candidate endorsement they hope will stop Cuomo.

Lander forcefully rebuked those claims.

Though Mamdani does support the BDS movement, “I don’t support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Movement,” Lander told me. “I never have and I never will.”

It is unclear whether Cuomo or Lander benefit from these attacks beyond their respective bases of support. Mayor Eric Adams, whose federal corruption case has been formally dropped with prejudice, has maintained his popularity with Orthodox Jews who appreciate his strong pro-Israel stance. Scott Stringer, a former city comptroller who is Jewish, is competing with Lander for the support of progressives, including the left-leaning Jews of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

But the attacks definitely caught the attention of the handful of cameramen recording for the networks.

Will Jewish voters care? Cuomo and Lander hope they do.

As a bonus, Lander also pledged to build a sukkah at Gracie Mansion, if elected. This was a veiled attack on Cuomo, who, during his 2006 campaign for attorney general, reportedly referred to Sukkot as “these people and their f***ing tree houses,” a comment Cuomo denied.

As we say in S’firat Ha’Omer, today is one day of the campaign. Another 83 days to go.

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