Pictures of Andrew Cuomo schmoozing with then-Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat in 2000 are back in the spotlight now that the ex-governor is making a comeback bid for mayor.
Cuomo, who was then Bill Clinton’s secretary for Housing and Urban Development, sat down with Arafat on June 23, 2000, as part of a three-day trip to Israel.
He also met with then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and announced the creation of a binational commission on housing and community development.
But at least one Jewish activist said seeing anyone meet with Arafat made his blood boil.
“The only acceptable photo with Yasser Arafat is putting a knife in his back. Arafat was a pure, unadulterated terrorist. He was a real monster,” said Dov Hikind, founder of Americans against Antisemitism and former Brooklyn state Assemblyman representing heavily Jewish Borough Park for decades.
Arafat, who died in 2004, was accused of launching the second intifada uprising against Israel after peace negotiations at Camp David broke down with the Jewish state.
The PLO denied that Arafat was behind the terror attacks in the heart of Israel.
But Hamas leader and co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar in 2010 said that “President Arafat instructed Hamas to carry out a number of military operations in the heart of the Jewish state after he felt that his negotiations with the Israeli government then had failed.”
Arafat’s wife, Suha, later confirmed in an interview Dubai TV that Arafat launched the terror attacks in Israel.
The Post obtained the photos of the cozy sit-down via a legal request with HUD back in 2002, during Cuomo’s first unsuccessful run for governor, and published a story about the meeting.
Other Jewish activists defended the three-term Democrat, saying he and his father former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who died in 2015, have been staunch allies of Israel and the Jewish people.
“The greatest internal threat to America presently comes from the alliance between the Socialist Left and the Muslim Brotherhood that has infiltrated the Democratic Party under the banner of ‘Progressivism,’” said Matthew Schweber, a lawyer who is a member of the Columbia University Jewish Alumni Association.
“Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani epitomize this threat,” he said, referring to two of Cuomo’s opponents in the Democratic mayoral primary.
“Conversely, Andrew Cuomo is the last bulwark against the menace of ‘Defund the Police and ‘Death to Israel,’” Schweber added.
“Needless to say, Andrew Cuomo is my first choice for NYC’s next mayor.”
Cuomo has been a frequent visitor to Israel and as governor approved an executive order — still in place — that bars state entities from doing business with firms that support the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the Jewish state.
Cuomo’s campaign defended his meeting with Arafat.
“There has been no greater ally and supporter of the Jewish people and Israel than Andrew Cuomo. As the New York Post knows, because they covered this same story 25 years ago when it occurred,” said Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi.
“In 2000 the Clinton administration was working to negotiate peace between Israel and Gaza and Prime Minister Barak and PLA Leader Arafat respectively, and Secretary Cuomo’s meeting to the region were in relation to those efforts. Unfortunately, as history has shown, those peace talks were ultimately not successful.”
Cuomo’s rep said the ex-governor is the only candidate who will vigorously fight antisemitism while his Democratic mayoral opponents play footsies with the anti-Israel left or even embrace the BDS-supporting, anti-Zionist Democratic Socialists of America.
“Rising anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism writ large are among the many unchecked crises gripping New York City. The members of the DSA and supporters of members of the DSA, which includes many electoral officials in city government, fuel the spreading antisemitism,” said Azzopardi.
“Governor Cuomo is the only person in this race with the experience and the proven track record to confront it.”
