Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the leading Democratic candidate in New York City’s upcoming mayoral primary, predicted that Jewish voters could ultimately swing the outcome of the June election in a new podcast interview released on Thursday.

“You have 600,000 registered Jewish Democrats. The whole turnout in the primary is 800,000,” he said in a conversation with Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York. “They could decide the election. Use your voice, use your vote, get aggressive. Passivity does not work.”

A recent Marist poll showed Cuomo garnering just 26% of Jewish primary voters, though he still led the rest of the field by a wide margin.

In his campaign, Cuomo has engaged in aggressive outreach to the city’s sizable Orthodox community, called the rise of antisemitism “the most important issue” in the race and accused his rivals of failing to stand with Israel by aligning with the far left, a topic he addressed more broadly during his conversation on Hirsch’s podcast, “In These Times.”

“I understand why a lot of Jewish people don’t have the trust in the Democratic Party that they did,” the former governor said. “They watched the Squad in Washington and what they said about Israel, which was vile in many ways — and the Democrats stood by, silent, and they felt isolated and abandoned.”

He also reiterated his belief that anti-Zionism is equal to antisemitism, an argument he has made previously. “In theory, you could say, ‘I oppose the government’s policies, but I understand that is not a reflection on the people of the country,’” he stated in the interview. “So theoretically you could do it, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.” 

“Anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” he added. “That’s where I believe we are.”

The former governor said that he continues to be “shocked” by the extremism on display at anti-Israel demonstrations, which he described as “more and more egregious.”

“You wear the masks of Hamas during protests,” he said. “What are you trying to say? You’re not saying, ‘I want peace.’ You’re not saying ‘Israel should stop bombing.’ You are wearing the mask of Hamas.”

Hirsch, a prominent Reform rabbi, clarified that he was not endorsing Cuomo’s campaign — in keeping with a tradition among congregational leaders. “We do, however, endorse policies,” he said, praising the former governor as a dependable ally of the Jewish community.

“Gov. Cuomo and his father, Mario Cuomo, before him, have been uniquely supportive of the Jewish community and the Jewish state for decades,” he said during the podcast. “We should not take this support for granted.”