TOP Governor’s Netanyahu BOMBSHELL

Hand holding a black megaphone in a city street — Photo: a katz / Shutterstock

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said her job would be “a lot easier” if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost his election, because she believes Israel’s “overreach” after the October 7 attack has fed the antisemitism she calls “sky-high” in her state.

Story Highlights

On Tuesday, October 27, the day Israelis went to the polls, Hochul said in a magazine interview that governing New York would be easier if Netanyahu lost.
She said she privately warned Israel’s government not to “overreach” after the Hamas attack, and “that’s what’s happened.”
Critics, including a New York congressman, say she blamed Jews for antisemitism, though her quoted words target Netanyahu’s government.
Hochul’s own record includes $70 million in hate-crime security money for houses of worship and schools, and repeated pledges to protect Jewish New Yorkers.
The remarks land one week before Hochul faces voters in her own race for governor.
Police figures released earlier in October showed hate crimes in New York City up nearly 13% in the first nine months of 2026, with anti-Jewish incidents making up more than half.

What Hochul Said About Netanyahu

Hochul made the comments in an interview about her political future. “I went to Israel right after Oct. 7. I saw a lot of pain there,” she said, pointing to the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel that set off the war in Gaza. “But I actually cautioned the government there, in private conversations, not to overreach.”

By “overreach,” she meant going too far in the military response. “The world is with you when it comes to the brutal assault by a terrorist organization known as Hamas,” she said. “An overreach could change that dynamic, and that’s what’s happened.” She added that “a lot of people are anxious about antisemitism, which is sky-high right now. And I take that personally, because I represent everyone.” She also said peace with a Palestinian state will not happen “as long as Netanyahu is sitting there.”

Critics Say She Blamed Jews

Conservative critics pounced. Some headlines said Hochul blamed Jews for people hating Jews. Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican congressman from New York’s Hudson Valley, put it this way on Tuesday: “Kathy Hochul is about as feckless as a governor as there is, so it’s no surprise she’ll just try to blame the Jews for people hating the Jews.” He called her remarks “embarrassing.”

Her quoted words point at Netanyahu’s government, not at Jewish people as a group. Still, the problem conservatives flag is real. A sitting Democratic governor tied rising hatred against Jewish New Yorkers to the war choices of a foreign leader, instead of putting the blame on the people who commit those attacks here at home. Police figures released earlier in October showed hate crimes in New York City up nearly 13% in the first nine months of 2026, with anti-Jewish incidents making up more than half.

Hochul’s Record on Protecting Jewish New Yorkers

Hochul has said very different things in other settings. At a commemoration of the October 7 attack held by UJA-Federation, a large New York Jewish charity, she said, “I take any attack on the Jewish people personally. Whether it’s here in New York, in Israel or anywhere else in the world… my solidarity with the Jewish people will never, ever waver.”

In September, ahead of the Jewish High Holy Days, she announced $70 million in state hate-crime money to protect nearly 300 houses of worship, schools and community groups, along with more state police at houses of worship through Yom Kippur. She vowed to be “not just a protector but an ally and friend to the Jewish people of New York State.” That record cuts against any claim that she sees Jewish New Yorkers as the source of the problem.

Political Stakes for Hochul

The comments landed in the middle of a hard-fought race. Hochul faces Republican Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, on Tuesday, November 3. At a televised debate in mid-October, Blakeman, who is Jewish, told her, “Antisemitism is on the rise, and it’s occurred under your watch.” Her campaign answered that she considers keeping the Jewish community safe “a solemn responsibility and a critical priority.”

Israel’s vote did not settle things quickly. Exit polls on election night, Tuesday, October 27, showed neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition winning the 61 seats needed to govern, and officials said the final count could take several days. Whatever Israelis decide, New York voters have Hochul’s own words to weigh: her state’s antisemitism problem, she suggested, would ease if a foreign democracy picked a different leader.