Unassigned

Jewish Congressional Candidate Brad Lander Not Exactly Warmly Welcomed at Indian Protest

New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander first made headlines last summer when he was arrested for interfering with ICE as they took an illegal alien into custody. Here's a great photo to remind us of that special moment.

Advertisement

Lander lost his bid for mayor, but he won the Democrat Party's nomination for Congress, beating out incumbent Dan Goldman. Lander, like Goldman, is Jewish and is doing his best to reach out to the Muslim community. MEMRI reported in June that Lander recited a verse from the Quran at a Queens Mosque and said he hoped to partner in Congress with the Hamas Caucus, Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Curiously, Lander was the only one of three congressional candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who did not receive an endorsement from Mamdani's wife, Rama Duwaji.

Over the weekend, Lander joined a protest against a Hindu nationalist politician speaking at Madison Square Garden. Lander, who is a critic of the Israeli government and identifies as a liberal Zionist, didn't find a warm welcome among the Indian population.

Advertisement

CNN reports that Lander "dropped his Democratic Socialists of America membership earlier this year after the organization promoted a controversial pro-Palestinian rally the day after the Hamas attacks."

Advertisement

Lander has called the IDF operation in Gaza "genocide" and claimed Goldman was beholden to AIPAC. That was enough for him to give Goldman the boot, but he's still Jewish.

***