Governor Andrew Cuomo has traveled to Israel for a trip that he said is designed to show solidarity with them amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in New York.
“We have 1.75 million Jewish people in New York. We have more Jewish people in New York than any place outside of Israel and it's well known that there has been a scourge of anti-Semitic activity in this country,” Cuomo said.
The governor called the incidents “deeply distressing” and said they are “personally offensive” and “repugnant” to him.
“The Jewish community is part of the New York family, it's part of our culture. It's part of our history. Without the Jewish community New York is not New York,” Cuomo said.
The governor said this is also a trade mission.He said he’s looking for ways that Israeli businesses can strengthen New York’s economic development agenda.
“We've been working on trade with Israel for a number of years, this is not our first trip. The numbers are shocking, the economic impact numbers with Israel, in New York there's $5 billion in exports to Israel, more than any other State in the United States,” Cuomo said.
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