Cuomo Unleashes Firestorm on Mayoral Rivals Over Anti-Semitism in High-Stakes NYC Campaign Speech

By: Fern Sidman

In a forceful and politically charged address at the West Side Institutional Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Tuesday evening, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered an impassioned denunciation of rising anti-Semitism — and launched a blistering critique of his rivals in the 2025 New York City mayoral race. According to a report that appeared on VIN News, over 100 attendees filled the historic sanctuary to hear Cuomo speak on what he called one of the “defining moral crises of our time.”

The former governor, now mounting a high-profile political comeback with his mayoral bid, used the platform to position himself as a fierce defender of the Jewish community. But in doing so, he ignited a political firestorm that is already reverberating across the city’s Democratic establishment.

Drawing from recent spikes in anti-Semitic incidents across the United States and around the world, Cuomo warned of a growing normalization of hate cloaked in political ideology. VIN News reported that Cuomo urged the Jewish community and its allies to reject indifference and unify across party lines to confront what he described as a metastasizing threat.

“History teaches us that anti-Semitism is the first crack in the dam — a precursor to broader societal collapse,” Cuomo declared, according to the VIN News report. “This isn’t just about the Jewish people. It’s about whether we stand for a city — and a society — where all people can live in dignity and safety.”

But the speech didn’t stay on a purely moral or philosophical plane for long.

Turning to the political battlefield, Cuomo quickly pivoted to targeting some of the city’s most prominent progressive figures — many of whom are also eyeing City Hall. In particular, Cuomo branded City Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani as “disciples” of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a group he accused of enabling anti-Semitic narratives under the guise of left-wing ideology.

According to the information provided in the VIN News report, Cuomo condemned Lander for his role in what he alleged was the city’s first divestment from Israel bonds in half a century — a move he described as a betrayal of long-standing solidarity between New York and the Jewish state. Lander’s campaign, however, swiftly pushed back, disputing Cuomo’s version of events while calling the accusation factually misleading.

Cuomo also singled out Mamdani, labeling him a “DSA devotee” and calling attention to his support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community of nations through economic, cultural and academic boycotts. Cuomo has argued, and rightly so, that the movement veers into visceral anti-Semitism by delegitimizing the existence of a Jewish state.

The former governor saved one of his most controversial lines of attack for Speaker Adrienne Adams, accusing her of being the “first speaker in the history of New York City to boycott Israel” by never visiting the country during her time in office, the VIN News report said.

The fallout was swift. At a press conference, Brad Lander responded in stark and profane terms, telling Cuomo to “get the f–k out of here,” a retort that stunned reporters and drew attention to the intensity of the political feud now engulfing the mayoral race. According to the report on VIN News, Lander also accused Cuomo of “weaponizing anti-Semitism” for political gain, claiming the former governor was using Jewish suffering as a “bludgeon” against his ideological opponents.

The New York Post reported that Lander commented:“Here’s what I have to say about it: ‘A beyzer gzar zol er af dir kumen’,” which the comptroller said “roughly translates” to “get the f–k out of here” in Yiddish. He added: “Andrew, if you want to question my commitment to my people, say it to my face.”

“Andrew Cuomo doesn’t get to tell me how to be Jewish,” Lander said bluntly, according to VIN News. “He is trying to score points with the Jewish community by lobbing reckless accusations that have no basis in fact.”

The comptroller also pointed to Cuomo’s own controversial past, suggesting that the former governor has little standing to speak on matters of anti-Semitism. “Let’s not forget who we’re talking about,” Lander added, as was reported in The New York Post. “This is a man with a long record of ethical failures, and now he wants to rewrite that record with talking points dressed up as moral outrage.”

VIN News also reported that progressive groups aligned with the DSA have also come to the defense of the targeted officials, accusing Cuomo of fearmongering and attempting to “turn Jews into pawns in a cynical political game.”

The fiery exchange has struck a nerve in New York City, particularly among voters concerned about the growing polarization over Israel and the recent global surge in anti-Semitic incidents. According to VIN News, Cuomo’s comments were received warmly by some members of the synagogue audience, many of whom expressed concern over the rise of anti-Israel rhetoric within progressive political circles.

Cuomo, who is seeking to rebrand himself as a moral voice in city politics after resigning from the governorship amid scandal, has seized on anti-Semitism as a cornerstone of his campaign message. He is betting that his strong pro-Israel stance and fierce opposition to the DSA’s influence in city politics will resonate with voters in outer boroughs and moderate Democratic enclaves.

Lander, meanwhile, is emblematic of the city’s progressive wing — a vocal proponent of social justice causes, and someone who sees no contradiction between his Jewish identity and his harsh critiques of Israeli government policy.

Whether Cuomo’s speech proves to be a calculated gamble or an effective rallying cry remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that his remarks have injected the issue of anti-Semitism — and the broader conversation around Israel, identity politics, and leftist ideology — into the heart of the city’s 2025 mayoral contest.

According to VIN News, recent polling shows Cuomo experiencing a surprising uptick in support, signaling that his law-and-order image and reputation as a political brawler may still resonate with a significant slice of the electorate

Cuomo’s synagogue speech may well serve as a turning point — either a polarizing miscalculation or the opening salvo of a combative campaign strategy designed to energize voters who feel alienated by the progressive turn of city politics.