00:00I will be the mayor who doesn't just protect Jewish New Yorkers, but also celebrates and
00:04cherishes them.
00:05You're the savior of the Jewish people.
00:07You won't denounce, globalize the Intifada, which means kill Jews.
00:11There's unprecedented fear in New York.
00:14I have never, not once, spoken in support of global jihad.
00:19That is not something that I have said, and that continues to be ascribed to me.
00:23And frankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate
00:27to be on the precipice of winning this election.
00:34I would like to spend a few minutes to see if we can dial down the rhetoric.
00:37Mr. Mamdani, some Jewish New Yorkers continue to say that your comments on Israel and the
00:41war in Gaza leave them feeling unsafe and concerned about their future in our city.
00:47Recently, several prominent New York rabbis took the unusual step of denouncing your candidacy,
00:51including the rabbi of the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan and Rabbi Michael Miller, the longtime
00:56leader of the Jewish Community Relations Council, who is a friend to many of us.
01:00Do you have any regrets about how you've dealt with these issues?
01:04And will your longstanding views on the subject get in the way of your ability to be an effective
01:09mayor?
01:10I look forward to being a mayor for every single person that calls this city home, not
01:15just those who voted for me in the Democratic primary, not just those that vote for me in
01:19this general election, but all eight and a half million New Yorkers.
01:22And that includes Jewish New Yorkers who may have concerns or opposition to the positions
01:27that I've shared about Israel and Palestine.
01:29You know, just a few weeks ago, I was on the M57, the slowest bus in New York City.
01:34And as I was seated there, there was a speech therapist who was sitting next to me.
01:38She told me that she was Jewish.
01:39She said that her daughter was a huge fan, but that she was not yet decided on who she was
01:44going to vote for.
01:45And she shared to me about her fears in this city, about rising anti-Semitism.
01:49And I told her what I will tell New Yorkers today, which is that I will be the mayor who
01:53doesn't just protect Jewish New Yorkers, but also celebrates and cherishes them, who doesn't
01:58just increase funding to hate crime prevention programs by 800 percent, who doesn't just
02:02ensure that the NYPD are outside of synagogues and temples on the High Holy Days, but also
02:07actually delivers on the implementation of the Hidden Voices curriculum in our school system
02:12so that children in this city learn about the beauty and the breath of the Jewish experience
02:16right here in the five boroughs.
02:17Okay.
02:18I've got a different comment on that, please.
02:25You know, not everything is a TikTok video.
02:28You're the savior of the Jewish people.
02:30You won't denounce, globalize the Intifada, which means kill Jews.
02:34There's unprecedented fear in New York.
02:37It was not several rabbis, Errol, it was 650 rabbis who signed the letter, not several.
02:46Let me ask you a related question, Mr. Cuomo.
02:49Many New Yorkers have serious grievances with Israel in the way the Israeli government under
02:53Benjamin Netanyahu has conducted the war in Gaza and expanded settlements in the West Bank.
02:59What would you say to, and how would you handle New Yorkers who are in the streets, if you
03:03were mayor, protesting the actions of the Netanyahu government?
03:07Fine.
03:08That's your right.
03:10Protest, demonstrate, disagree, God bless America, God bless New York City.
03:15And there is no doubt that there's two sides on what's going on, and the passions are very
03:19high.
03:20That doesn't, that doesn't justify anti-Semitic behavior in New York.
03:25It doesn't justify having a Jewish population that feels unprotected in New York.
03:31It doesn't, it doesn't justify leaders who stoke the flames of hatred against Jewish people,
03:40which is what Zoran does, in my opinion.
03:41I'll give him a chance to answer, and then we'll go to Mr. Slua.
03:46You know, I've heard from Jewish New Yorkers about their fears about anti-Semitism in this
03:52city.
03:53And what they deserve is a leader who takes it seriously, who roots it out of these five
03:57boroughs, not one who weaponizes it as a means by which to score political points on
04:02a debate stage.
04:03Mr. Slua.
04:04Excuse me.
04:05Excuse me, Mr. Cuomo, it's my turn, all right?
04:10It's like two kids in a schoolyard.
04:14Yeah.
04:15I heard you on the radio this morning.
04:16John, this is personal for me.
04:19I know you are under threat.
04:21The mother of my two youngest sons who are raised Jewish, Melinda Katz, is prosecuting
04:26this person who came up and tried to do you harm.
04:29But let me speak on behalf of my two sons.
04:33And they've heard some of the statements you've made, like in support of global jihad.
04:37And I hear some people out there saying the Jews, their time is due, which means the same
04:43thing.
04:44They're frightened.
04:45They're scared.
04:46They view you as the arsonist who fanned the flames of anti-Semitism.
04:51They cannot suddenly accept the fact that you're coming in like a firefighter and you're
04:56going to put out these flames.
04:58You've got a lot of explaining to do, a lot of apologizing to do.
05:03My sons are afraid.
05:04Their family, their friends, many in the Jewish community are concerned if you become mayor
05:09because they don't think when anti-Semitism rears its ugly head, which it's now doing more
05:15than ever before, that you will have the ability to come in and put out those flames of hate.
05:21Okay.
05:22Yes, we can...
05:24I think there is room for disagreement on many positions and many policies, but I also
05:31want to correct the record.
05:32I have never, not once, spoken in support of global jihad.
05:38That is not something that I have said, and that continues to be ascribed to me, and frankly
05:42I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be
05:46on the precipice of winning this election.
05:49Now, all the same, Curtis, I do still want to be the mayor that will keep your sons safe,
05:58that will keep every single New Yorker safe, and it is my job to not only deliver on that
06:03commitment, but also to ensure that New Yorkers feel it every single day that they live in
06:10this city.
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