Image by Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

By Jacob Kornbluh November 9, 2021

Becoming the 57th governor of New York earlier this summer came with a personal price for Kathy Hochul: she had to cancel a planned first-time trip with her family to Israel for the Thanksgiving weekend, the governor revealed on Monday.

“I have a few responsibilities now,” Hochul said in brief remarks at the American Friends of Rabin Medical Center annual gala at The Plaza hotel in Manhattan.

Governor Kathy Hochul makes an announcement on hate crime at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on October 6, 2021 Image by Office of Gov Kathy Hochul

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Hochul, 63, said she promised her disappointed husband, adult children and their spouses that they would make the trip next year after passing a state budget in April and getting through “a couple of little elections,” referring to the expected crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary next June and the general election against the presumed Jewish Republican candidate, Rep. Lee Zeldin.

“I promise I will go there, with the help of many of you, in a year from now to celebrate a relationship that I’ve treasured since my days in Congress as a staunch supporter of Israel,” she said.

Get the Forward delivered to your inbox. Sign up here to receive our essential morning briefing of American Jewish news and conversation, the afternoon’s top headlines and best reads, and a weekly letter from our editor-in-chief.

Hochul, who was lieutenant governor from 2014 until former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation in August, is considered a close friend of the New York Jewish community. She recently announced additional funds to boost security for Jewish and other religious institutions to fight a rise in antisemitic incidents.

Mara Koven-Gelman, director of the Buffalo Jewish Community Relations Council, told a local Jewish publication that Hochul told her in 2019 “would love to go” to Israel. But the coronavirus pandemic halted such a plan.

Cuomo visited Israel three times as governor.

“As governor of New York, I will continue to deepen our relationship with Israel in any way I can,” Hochul said on Monday. “And I will always continue to make sure Israel knows that New York is a true friend and ally, forever.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount