George Conway, a former Republican lawyer and prominent critic of President Donald Trump who announced his bid in a Democratic House primary in Manhattan on Tuesday, is raising concerns about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s approach to Israel and antisemitism. 

Conway, who recently relocated to Manhattan in order to run for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), said in an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday that he was “disturbed” by Mamdani’s sharp criticisms of Israel, even as he called the mayor “a great politician” and voiced admiration for his “focus on affordability.”

The first-time candidate, 62, added in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday that he was “concerned about some of the language” Mamdani has “used in the past about Israel,” as well as the mayor’s recent decision to revoke a pair of executive orders related to Israel and antisemitism on his first day in office. 

“His focus really has to be on bringing people together,” Conway said of Mamdani, “not sending the wrong message to individual groups of people.”

As a former Republican operative, Conway, who is running on a staunchly anti-Trump platform, could face skepticism from voters in a heavily Democratic congressional district that includes the Upper East and West Sides.

But his views on Mamdani, who has long been a fierce critic of Israel, could otherwise resonate with a sizable Jewish constituency in the district — which former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo carried with 50% of the vote in the November mayoral election.

Conway is joining a crowded and competitive race to succeed Nadler, including two state legislators, a Kennedy scion and a gun control advocate who is a vocal detractor of Israel’s war in Gaza. While all the top candidates endorsed Mamdani’s campaign, they have also disagreed with some of his stances on Israel, such as his refusal to recognize the country’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

Still, most candidates have been relatively cautious about publicly sharing their own positions on Israel amid deepening divisions over Middle East policy in the Democratic Party.

Conway, for his part, has previously been critical of Israel’s military conduct during its war with Hamas in Gaza.

A spokesperson for Conway declined to comment further on Tuesday, referring Jewish Insider to his interview with NBC News.