Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman made an emotional plea to Jewish New Yorkers to support him in November, arguing that his election is necessary to “stop” Israel-bashing Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Blakeman, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, told the Bukharian Jewish Congress that he was the only gubernatorial candidate prepared to confront Mamdani and take action against what he called escalating 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 in Forest Hills during a speech marking the third 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 Asian and former Soviet-bloc nations, including Uzbekistan, now live in Queens, particularly in 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.
Blakeman, an underdog seeking to unseat two-term incumbent Hochul, must gain support in heavily Democratic New York City to remain competitive. His campaign is targeting Jewish voters angered by rising antisemitism and what they view as Mamdani’s attacks on Israel.
Blakeman recounted the atrocities committed against Israelis during the terrorist attacks, which killed more than 1,200 people, before criticizing Mamdani. On Wednesday, Mamdani used the solemn anniversary to accuse Israel of “genocide” as its military operation 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 accused Mamdani, who is Muslim, of making antisemitic statements.
“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.”
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Mamdani says he opposes Israel and its treatment of Palestinians but supports Jewish residents and has zero tolerance for antisemitism.
Hochul, meanwhile, has been a staunch 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 positions 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 at 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 also spoke Wednesday night at the United Jewish Appeal’s Oct. 7 commemoration.
A Hochul campaign spokesperson said the governor had launched a “nation-leading plan to combat antisemitism across” the state and directed $130 million toward combating 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.