Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman made an emotional pitch to Jewish New Yorkers ahead of the November election, urging them to support his campaign so he can “stop” Israel-bashing Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Blakeman, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, told the Bukharian Jewish Congress that he was the only candidate for governor prepared to confront Mamdani and take on what he described as rising antisemitism.
“There is only one person that can stop Zohran Mamdani and that is the governor of the state of New York,” Blakeman, who is Jewish, said Wednesday during a speech in Forest Hills marking the three-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist massacre in Israel.
“And this governor will not only not stop him, she is encouraging him,” Blakeman said of Hochul. “She’s campaigning with him. She endorsed him.”
“I’m here today as a father, a grandfather,” added Blakeman, who wore a kippah during his remarks. “I am going to fight for my children and my grandchildren. I am going to fight for your children and your grandchildren. But I can’t do it alone… You need to get into this fight.”
Roughly 70,000 Bukharian Jews who immigrated from Central Asia and former Soviet-bloc nations, including Uzbekistan, now live in Queens neighborhoods such as Rego Park, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens.
Much of the Bukharian Jewish community backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over Mamdani in last year’s mayoral election, which Mamdani won.
As an underdog seeking to unseat two-term incumbent Hochul, Blakeman must make gains in heavily Democratic New York City. His campaign is seeking support from Jewish voters angered by rising antisemitism and Mamdani’s criticism of Israel.
Blakeman recounted the atrocities committed during the terrorist attacks, which killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, before turning his criticism toward Mamdani. On Wednesday, Mamdani used the somber anniversary to accuse Israel of “genocide” as its military campaign in Gaza continues.
“The antisemitism is out of control,” said Blakeman, 71. “We have a mayor of New York City who put a statement just today, on Oct. 7, where he makes a moral equivalence between the attack on Oct. 7 and the Palestinian cause, whatever that cause may be.”
Blakeman has repeatedly accused Mamdani, who is Muslim, of making antisemitic remarks.
“I wouldn’t let Zohran Mamdani get away with the virulent antisemitic comments he’s made,” Blakeman recently told JNS.com. “I would tell him to stop or, if he didn’t, take action against him, which the governor has the power to do.”
Mamdani says he opposes Israel and its treatment of Palestinians while maintaining that he supports Jewish New Yorkers and has zero tolerance for antisemitism.
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Hochul, meanwhile, has been a strong supporter of Israel and visited the country shortly after the Hamas massacre.
Her measured remarks Wednesday stood in contrast to Mamdani’s statement.
Still, Hochul has largely avoided criticizing Mamdani over his attacks on Israel. She even publicly defended the mayor after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused him of encouraging violence against Jewish New Yorkers.
“The pain of that dark day has not faded. But neither has the strength, resilience and enduring hope of the Jewish people,” Hochul said in a statement Wednesday. She also ordered flags on state buildings to be flown at half-staff in solidarity with the people of Israel.
“Today, we remember the innocent lives stolen, stand with the survivors and the families forever changed, and pray for a lasting peace,” she said.
Hochul addressed the United Jewish Appeal’s Oct. 7 commemoration Wednesday night.
A Hochul campaign spokesperson said the governor had launched a “nation-leading plan to combat antisemitism across” the state and provided $130 million to combat hate crimes.
“She was the first American official to visit disaster sites in Israel in the wake of the October 7th attack — she will never stop fighting back against antisemitism every time it rears its head and she will never stop standing up for Jewish New Yorkers,” spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said.
Hochul became governor in 2021 when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in the face of sexual harassment claims that he has disputed.
She is now seeking her second complete four-year term.
Hochul goes into the final stretch ahead of the Nov. 3 elections with a combined $33 million cash on hand between her personal account and the state Democratic Party’s coiffeurs.
She also has a massive advantage in voter registration across the Empire State, where there are 6 million registered Democrats but only 2.8 million registered Republicans, according to the state Board of Elections. There are now more registered voters with no party affiliation — 3.4 million — than there are Republicans, according to the figures.
