The New York Times reports that a pro-Israel advocacy group started by Andrew Cuomo last year did little to advance its stated cause, but proved helpful in re-establishing the former governor’s connection to the state’s political donor class, whose support will be vital for his campaign for mayor of New York City.
According to the Times, Cuomo started the organization Never Again, NOW! last year in response to months of college campus protests against Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which to date is estimated to have killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians and has been dubbed a genocide by human rights organizations. “I understand how difficult this has been from a public relations strategy,” he told a Long Island Synagogue flock in July promoting his new initiative, “and how much damage it has done to the perception of Israel.” Cuomo promised that Never Again, NOW! would include a symposium to expose “the truth about anti-Zionist rhetoric” in colleges, a lecture circuit on the same topic in the fall, and political ads promising “accountability and mutuality” to elected officials regarding their stance on the issue.
None of those promises apparently came to fruition. Never Again, NOW!’s website is still up, which includes a brief mission statement detailing the organization’s goal of “providing education and promoting understanding about the relationship between Israel and United States,” as well as video of Cuomo’s speech from July. The site also features an ad telling the viewer that “if you stand with Hamas, you stand with terror” video, which has the format of an ad that Cuomo said the organization would be buying on television channels, but the Times was not able to find any evidence of the organization buying any airtime on any media. The website itself does not appear to have been updated after last summer, and it remains unclear if any money was raised or spent by the organization.
The Times notes that some advocates for Israel are not thrilled with the strong messaging paired with little follow-through, accusing Cuomo of using the issue of Jewish safety as “a political football.” Indeed, since resigning from office as governor in the midst of scandal, Cuomo has tried to ride back into politics on the back of hot-button issues, having also started a group for gun safety in 2022 that also went nowhere. Still, others are not bothered by the pandering or political opportunism. Irwin D. Simon, an organic products and cannabis entrepreneur with global reach, told the Times that he did not find Never Again, NOW!’s lack of action “relevant,” as the overt effort demonstrated solidarity with the cause of Israel. Simon said that New York City needs a leader like Cuomo, and that he will raise funds for his campaign.
