Cuomo defends Israel, Mamdani cries ‘genocide’ in heated NYC mayoral debate

You can’t lead New York if you can’t say Hamas is a terrorist group,” Cuomo said. “And you can’t talk peace while demonizing Israel for defending itself.”

By Jewish Breaking News Staff

New York’s first televised mayoral debate Thursday night erupted into a foreign-policy slugfest as the Israel-Gaza war eclipsed the city’s bread-and-butter issues.

On stage at CUNY’s Graduate Center were Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican contender Curtis Sliwa. Mayor Eric Adams, who exited the race last month, did not participate.

Mamdani, the Queens progressive who built his campaign on anti-police and pro-Hamas activism, doubled down on his accusation that Israel committed “genocide” in Gaza. He demanded an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” and when challenged by Cuomo to explicitly condemn Hamas, Mamdani sidestepped, saying, “I condemn the killing of civilians—whether by Hamas rockets or by Israeli bombs.”

Pressed further on his past “globalize the intifada” remarks, Mamdani called them “misunderstood,” insisting he was “calling for solidarity, not violence.” His comments drew sharp jeers from parts of the audience.

Cuomo, who has sought to reclaim his centrist footing since leaving the governor’s mansion, seized on the exchange to paint Mamdani as “recklessly out of touch.”

“You can’t lead New York if you can’t say Hamas is a terrorist group,” Cuomo said. “And you can’t talk peace while demonizing Israel for defending itself.”

Cuomo praised the Trump-brokered Gaza ceasefire, arguing it “proved diplomacy backed by strength works,” and voiced support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that “whatever one thinks of his politics, Netanyahu has kept Israel’s people alive under impossible conditions.”

That prompted Mamdani to accuse Cuomo of “whitewashing war crimes,” charging that the former governor “has more empathy for Netanyahu than for the children buried in Gaza.”

Meanwhile, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa used the moment to praise Trump’s “decisive leadership to end the war in Gaza. He called Mamdani “the protest candidate” and accused Cuomo of “pretending he’s not part of the Democratic machine that emboldened radicals like Mamdani.”

“New York needs a mayor who stands with Israel, not with Hamas sympathizers,” Sliwa said.

As New Yorkers prepare to vote on November 5, the city’s sizable Jewish population ensures that Israel and Gaza will remain at the heart of a mayoral race unlike any in recent memory.

Andrew CuomoNYCZohran Mamdani