NY Gov. Kathy Hochul lands in Israel for 'solidarity mission'
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul touched down in Tel Aviv on Wednesday as she began a 30-hour trip to Israel amid the war with Hamas that she described as a “solidarity mission.”
The 65-year-old Democrat began her sojourn with a security briefing at the airport, which she paused to speak with Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the US, according to pool reporter Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times.
Herzog told her that deliveries of aid to Palestinians were approved, but he warned, “If [Hamas] interferes, then we stop,” the report said.
Hochul then rode in an armored SUV to a kibbutz in Shefayim and toured a hotel that had been converted into a shelter to meet with Israeli families displaced by the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, Ferré-Sadurní said.
Avihai Brodutch, 42, told the governor that his wife and three young children were among the some 200 hostages in Gaza custody, and told Hochul that rescuing them should be the top priority of the US and Israel.
“The first thing that should be done is to bring them back,” he said. “My wife and kids, they shouldn’t be part of this conflict.”
“I still haven’t suffered any loss. I still have hope, but I need help from people like you.”
Hochul told the man, “Your pain becomes our pain. We’ll make sure to raise your voices.”
Doron Admoni, 67, said he was visiting family in the US when his wife texted him saying that she and one of their sons were under attack in Kafar Azza.
They were found dead in each other’s arms, he said, as Hochul briefly caressed his arm, according to the report.
Renana Botzer Swissa, 13 told Hochul she just attended the funeral of her friend’s father, who was killed while trying to protect people from terrorists.
“I saw my friend who is always smiling break down and there was nothing I could do to help her,” the teen said.
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
The governor told reporters Tuesday that she was heading to the Middle East on “a mission of solidarity … and also a mission of support,” and said her trip will protect the safety of all Jewish and Palestinian New Yorkers.
New York’s nearly 2 million Jews comprise a far larger constituency than in any other US state, and there are more Jewish people in New York City than Tel Aviv and Jerusalem combined.
Although Air Force One was spotted at Ben Gurion Airport when Hochul touched down, she and fellow Democrat President Biden traveled separately.
A short time later Biden departed the region, after postponing a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahomoud Abbas in the wake of an explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital.
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