New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the quiet part out loud this week, telling Politico Magazine that her job would be "a lot easier" if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu loses his bid to stay in power — aremark that lands one week before New Yorkers vote in her own race for governor.
Asked directly how much easier her job would get if Netanyahu loses, Hochul answered: "A lot easier. And here's the challenge: I represent the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel."
The governor went on to say she understands her constituents are "suffering" and "anxious about antisemitism, which is sky-high right now." She then described private conversations with the Israeli government after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
"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 told Politico Magazine.
She added: "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."
The interview published Tuesday, the same day Israelis cast ballots in their first general election since the Oct. 7 attack. Hochul faces voters in exactly one week in New York's gubernatorial race.
Blakeman: 'Running Out of Time' as Poll Shows Hochul Ahead
A Siena Research Institute poll released Wednesday showed Hochul leading Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, 54% to 40% among likely voters. The 14-point spread widened from her 50% to 41% lead in September.
"With only a week to go, Blakeman and Hochul are running virtually evenly upstate and in the downstate suburbs, while Hochul has an 11-point lead with independents," Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement. He said Blakeman is "quickly running out of time to close a gap that is growing rather than narrowing."
According to the Siena survey, a 35% plurality of voters said neither candidate would make life more affordable, versus 30% who picked Hochul and 27% who picked Blakeman. The poll marked the first time a majority of likely voters — 51% — viewed Hochul favorably, against 45% unfavorable.
Hochul's remarks on Israel drew a sharp response from The Gateway Pundit, which reported that hate crimes against Jews are up 13% this year in New York City and that Jews are the target in 53% of hate crimes. The outlet, in a piece by Jim Hoft, characterized the governor's comments as blaming Jews for antisemitism.
Mamdani Goes Further
Hochul is not the only New York Democrat to criticize Netanyahu. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been more outspoken, calling the Israeli leader "the architect of horrific genocide against Palestinians" in September, Fox News reported.
Hochul also told Politico Magazine she wants leadership that understands Israel's security is "paramount — critically important to me, but also the world — but to have a safe Palestinian state as well, which has been talked about my entire life."
The governor's interview comes as Israel's election results roll in and Netanyahu battles opposition leaders for a majority. Fox News reported from Tel Aviv that the race remains contested, with the prime minister's political future unresolved.
For New Yorkers, the practical question is what Hochul's private pressure campaign on Jerusalem actually produced — and whether she'll describe those "private conversations" in any detail before next Tuesday. Her office did not elaborate beyond the Politico interview.
What is known is that Hochul chose a magazine interview one week before her own election to tell the world her job gets easier if a close American ally's elected leader loses. New York's Jewish voters — the largest such community outside Israel — can now weigh that statement at the ballot box.
Our Take
Kathy Hochul just told the largest Jewish population outside Israel that her life gets simpler if Benjamin Netanyahu gets voted out. That's not diplomacy. That's a governor of New York signaling to her own constituents that the democratically elected leader of the Jewish state is the problem.
Notice the framing: Hamas commits the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and Hochul's takeaway is that Israel "overreached." She says she "cautioned" Jerusalem in private. She won't say what she cautioned, or when, or what she wanted Israel to do differently while hostages were still in tunnels. She wants credit for the concern without any of the specifics.
And she's doing this one week before an election, with a Siena poll showing her up 14 points. That's not courage. That's a safe-seat Democrat reading her base — the same base that elected Zohran Mamdani mayor of New York City — and tossing a nod to the people who think Israel is the aggressor. Mamdani called Netanyahu the "architect of horrific genocide." Hochul won't go that far, but she just made clear which direction she's leaning.
New York Jews are watching hate crimes against them rise — 53% of all hate crimes in the city target them, according to The Gateway Pundit — and their governor's response is to question the leadership of the one country that gives them a refuge. Bruce Blakeman should put this quote in every ad from now until Tuesday. Voters deserve to know exactly what Hochul said, and exactly what she meant by "overreach."
