Former NY Gov. Cuomo announces new pro-Israel Democratic group

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday night that he is launching an organization called "Progressives for Israel" aimed to promote the Democratic Party's support for Israel.

The disgraced governor, who resigned in 2021 amid multiple scandals including sexual harassment complaints and allegedly obscuring the full scope of COVID-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes, announced the initiative at a Carnegie Hall event hosted by Rabbi Shmuely Boteach, head of the World Values Network, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

Cuomo, who is expected to challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as she runs for reelection next year, said he was forming the organization in order to pressure Democrats to fight criticism of Israel with the same determination they condemn antisemitism.

'The Shabbos goy' 

Speaking at Monday's event, the ex governor said it falls on non-Jewish elected officials to speak out “first and loudest” against antisemitism and in support of Israel’s right to defend itself. He said that antisemites “try to distinguish between antisemitism and anti-Zionism. But you must ignore history in order to make that differentiation.”

“It is time for the Shabbos goy,” Cuomo declared, using a term that his late father three-term governor of New York Mario Cuomo also used to refer to himself, and recalled his close ties with New York Jews in his experience turning on the lights during the Sabbath for Orthodox families in his native Queens.

“The Shabbos goy can do the work that benefits both the Jewish community and the non-Jewish community,” the younger Cuomo said. “The Shabbos goy can turn on the lights on the Sabbath because it benefits everyone. It is time to turn on the lights.”

Democratic support for Israel

The Jewish electorate is overwhelmingly Democrat, with Jewish voters consistently voting 3:1 Democrat. 

A 2022 Pew survey found that 53% of American adults who identify as Democrats, and majority of younger Americans under age 30, harbor unfavorable views of Israel.

In recent years the number of progressive House members outspokenly condemning the Jewish state has expanded, notably “The Squad” formed in 2018 by Democratic Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley, 

Last year, eight Democrats voted against the replenishment of Israel’s anti-missile Iron Dome defense system and 16 opposed a resolution condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. 

Some Jewish progressive groups pushed back against Cuomo's announcement.

New York Jewish Agenda wrote on Twitter: "The chutzpah. One of the last things the Jewish people, progressives, or Israeli democracy need is a disgraced, not-actually-progressive, former Governor inserting himself into this critical moment for Israel in a dangerously misguided attempt to stay relevant."