Mayor Zohran Mamdani was roundly blasted for demonizing Israel on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, but Gov. Kathy Hochul almost deserves as much scorn.
In his statement, Mamdani paid lip service to the “unthinkable loss” three years ago, but quickly pivoted to smearing the Jewish state with lies.
Yet not only does Hochul refuse to condemn him for that, she actually agrees with some of his deranged views — and proudly touted them on that very same day.
That’s right: On Thursday, when The Post asked Hochul’s spokesman if she had any problems with the mayor’s Oct. 7 blood libel, he referred us to what she said on CBS, when she was asked if she, too, believed the bigger crime was Israel’s response.
At first, she dodged: “That day speaks for itself,” she replied.
But she then turned to scorching Israel, reminding viewers that she’d called for more humanitarian aid in Gaza “to avoid any loss of civilian life,” and it was not provided. So “I understand the anxiety and the frustration around that experience.”
What a gross calumny: The claims of famine in Gaza have been widely debunked, and indeed Israel allowed enormous amounts of aid to flow into the strip, though much of it was stolen by Hamas.
Why couldn’t she just say, yes, Mamdani was cruel (if not outrageous) for bashing Israelon a day when it focused on remembering the slaughter of its innocents?
Fact is, Hochul lacks a backbone on which to build firm principles.
It’s yet another sign of the gov’s political cowardice: She feels forced to coddle and encourage him, despite his antisemitism and incitement.
Her rival for governor in November, Bruce Blakeman, by contrast, laudably decries the rising antisemitism Hizzoner incites and positions himself as the only candidate ready to stand up to him.
And here’s a rich irony: While Mamdani’s lip service failed to fool Jewish groups, which roundly blasted his speech, it also offered ammo to pro-Hamas extremists.
“Zohran, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” protesters chided at a vigil to honor the Jewish victims.
Hamasniks even protested him as he dined at a Palestinian restaurant whose menu includes a section titled “From the River to the Sea,” a call for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from Israel.
The attacks on him — for lamenting Jewish deaths — might (conveniently) have the effect of making him seem moderate and reasonable to some.
But even the extremists must know Mamdani stands with them, and that he’s every bit as committed to ending Israel’s existence as they are.
A key lesson here, though, is that these terror-backers will never be satisfied: Even the slightest sign of sympathy for innocent Jews is too much for them.
Most sickening is that Mamdani actually sides with them — and by association, Hochul’s not much better.
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