JERUSALEM — He toured. He prayed. He visited an ancient tomb. He broke bread, cracked jokes and even wedged in some Albany arm-twisting. And he prompted flags to appear all over, even in the middle of cobblestone streets.

The purpose of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s breakneck 15-hour trip to Israel was an odd mash-up of showing emotional support — reassuring the Jewish population in the aftermath of a rash of anti-Semitic threats and acts of vandalism across New York State and nationwide — and promoting business ties.

But as with all things Cuomo lately, the trip is also being seen through the prism of politics, particularly the continued speculation about the governor’s potential presidential ambitions. It is a notion he has been actively tamping down, even if his actions — such as a last-minute trip to a country that looms large in discussions of American foreign policy — seem to feed the idea.

“It’s unfortunate in many ways because it suggests a political nature to everything, which frankly fuels the cynicism about the whole process,” said Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, who added that anti-Semitism was a personal issue: Two of his sisters are married to Jewish men.