Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is clarifying that his recent Yom Kippur apology to New York’s Orthodox Jewish community was strictly about communication failures—not a repudiation of his COVID-19 red-zone policies. In an exclusive interview with Kol Haolam, Cuomo emphasized that his regret centered on the tone and delivery of his administration’s pandemic messaging, while maintaining that the controversial restrictions were necessary to protect public health.

“The apology was about how the message was communicated, not what we did,” Cuomo stated. “The red-zone designations were driven by data, by infection rates—not by bias.”

Cuomo’s comments refer to his October 2025 Yom Kippur outreach, in which he sought to rebuild ties with the Orthodox community amid ongoing criticism of the 2020 red-zone orders. Those policies, enacted at the height of the pandemic, imposed limits on gatherings in areas like Brooklyn’s Hasidic neighborhoods, leading to strong backlash and a federal lawsuit by Agudath Israel of America, which alleged religious discrimination.

The former governor defended his decisions as life-saving measures based on medical necessity rather than politics, pointing to the high concentration of COVID-19 infections at the time. “We were trying to stop people from dying,” he said. “But in the process, we could have done a better job listening and explaining.”

Cuomo’s clarification comes as he seeks to strengthen outreach to Jewish voters while weighing a potential 2025 run for New York City mayor. His remarks highlight an attempt to balance accountability for past communication missteps with steadfast defense of the policies he believes prevented further tragedy.

Despite lingering tensions from the pandemic years, Cuomo’s renewed engagement with the Orthodox community signals a strategic political reset—one focused on reconciliation, respect, and leadership built on experience and crisis-tested decision-making.