Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York has long cast himself as a “hyper-aggressive” supporter of Israel, not only defending its war in Gaza but actively confronting fellow Democrats who do not.
But as his lagging campaign for mayor of New York City enters its final weeks, there are signs that Mr. Cuomo’s stance has begun to shift.
In an interview with The New York Times on Monday, Mr. Cuomo said the situation in Gaza had become “horrific,” called for an immediate end to the war and gently distanced himself from Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a man he had signed up to defend in the International Criminal Court less than a year ago.
“There is no doubt that the people of New York and the nation see the continued carnage that is happening and are deeply, deeply disturbed and want it over, and believe it has gone on way too long,” Mr. Cuomo said.
He added: “It should end today. Return the hostages, end the violence. Today. I think it should have been over months ago. It is horrific.”
Many Democrats, especially the front-runner in the mayoral race, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, have offered far harsher criticisms of Israel and its leader two years into the war in Gaza, where more than 60,000 people have been killed, according to health officials there.
But the comments from the former governor, 67, were notable because they marked one of the first times he has been willing to question the war effort at all, in the face of pressure from Mr. Mamdani and from voters who increasingly embrace the assemblyman’s position on the conflict.
After Mr. Cuomo appeared to criticize Israel for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza back in August, for example, he rushed to clarify his remarks, saying he had merely been representing the views of some, and that he did not hold Israel solely responsible for the starvation spreading throughout the enclave.
Mr. Cuomo, a moderate, has spent much of the campaign attacking Mr. Mamdani’s views on the war, suggesting that his pro-Palestinian stances and criticism of the Israeli government were feeding antisemitism in New York City, which is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel.
But polls suggest that views among Democrats, and all New Yorkers, have rapidly shifted over the course of the war — and that it is Mr. Cuomo whose position now looks to be out of step with public sentiment, posing a potential political liability.
A recent New York Times/Siena survey found that likely New York City voters preferred Mr. Mamdani’s position on the conflict to Mr. Cuomo’s. The poll also found that New Yorkers broadly sympathize with Palestinians over Israelis, nearly two years after Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, and Israel began its war in Gaza.
Any attempt to take a tougher stance on Israel may be politically risky for Mr. Cuomo, too. He is competing with Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent, for the support of a group of Jewish New Yorkers who strongly support Israel, and Mr. Cuomo cannot afford to lose their votes or their financial backing.
In the interview on Monday, Mr. Cuomo was careful not to criticize Israel’s military or Mr. Netanyahu directly, shifting attention back to Mr. Mamdani at several points. Nor did he say on what terms he believed the war should end.
Mr. Cuomo criticized Mr. Mamdani for pledging to arrest Mr. Netanyahu if he sets foot in the city, in response to a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. Mr. Mamdani told The Times last week that he would order the New York Police Department to apprehend Mr. Netanyahu, potentially at the airport.
“I don’t think the mayor of New York should be exercising his or her political judgment in arresting world leaders based on their politics,” Mr. Cuomo said.
Last November, Mr. Cuomo actually signed up to join a team of lawyers led by Alan M. Dershowitz to defend Mr. Netanyahu from the same I.C.C. warrant. “This is the moment when true friends stand shoulder to shoulder and fight for the state of Israel,” he said then, harshly criticizing Hamas.
But on Monday, Mr. Cuomo said he had been interested in making an argument about I.C.C. jurisdiction, not about the merits of claims that Mr. Netanyahu has committed war crimes. He rejected the idea he had allied himself with the Israeli leader.
“I never stood with Bibi,” he said, using a nickname for Mr. Netanyahu.
Mr. Cuomo would not say whether he believed Israel’s military had committed war crimes in Gaza.
“That would require a legal analysis that I haven’t done,” he said. “But there is no doubt that the shift has been dramatic, I think for everyone.” He added, “I think you see the carnage every night on TV.”
Mr. Cuomo’s interview with The Times was wide-ranging, and covered his views on President Trump and the state of the mayoral race.
He warned that the president’s threats to try to assert control over New York City, including by deploying the National Guard, should be taken very seriously.
“It’s not really about the National Guard,” he said. “If you allow him to invade, even if you win the National Guard argument, once he invades he has many weapons. Stop the housing funding, stop the health care funding, stop the transportation funding.”
Mr. Cuomo said that he was the only candidate in the race who knew how to go head-to-head with Mr. Trump, and that if Mr. Mamdani, 33, were elected, the president would seek to exploit his inexperience and his democratic socialist views.
“He’s the president, he has a bigger club,” Mr. Cuomo said of potential conflicts he himself would face with Mr. Trump, if elected. “But he knows it is going to be bloody.”
Mr. Cuomo made a similar argument in June’s Democratic primary, and Mr. Mamdani ended up beating him badly. Now the Democratic nominee, Mr. Mamdani has, in turn, attacked Mr. Cuomo for being far too cozy with Mr. Trump, amid reports this summer that the president was looking to get involved in the race, potentially to boost Mr. Cuomo’s candidacy.
Mr. Cuomo also played down the significance of the decision by his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow moderate, to endorse Mr. Mamdani on Sunday.
Mr. Cuomo said he did not expect that Ms. Hochul’s view “frankly, is going to sway people one way or another,” though he said it “increases pressure” on Representative Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Chuck Schumer, the New Yorkers who lead House and Senate Democrats, to line up behind Mr. Mamdani.
Mr. Cuomo, who once tried to remove Ms. Hochul from the ticket as his running mate, offered a lukewarm assessment of her governorship.
“I think she has been a good governor. It depends on how you define — there’s a spectrum of good,” he said.
He continued: “What’s an extraordinary accomplishment over the past few years? I haven’t seen extraordinary accomplishments where you would say, ‘This is going to go in the history books.’”
Mr. Cuomo said he had several such accomplishments as governor before he resigned amid sexual harassment accusations, which he denies: rebuilding LaGuardia Airport, opening Moynihan Train Hall in Manhattan and legalizing same-sex marriage.
Asked if he had a plan that could have a similarly large impact if he were elected mayor, though, he offered a less concrete goal.
“I think the totality is a dramatic shift in the condition of New York City, and the restoration of confidence in New York City,” he said, “and New York City as a destination point as opposed to an exit point.”