How the Israel-Hamas War Could Shape the New York City Mayoral Race
The New York Times
Mayor Eric Adams is a strong supporter of Israel. One of his primary opponents, Brad Lander, the comptroller, calls himself a “progressive Zionist.”
The Israel-Hamas war has divided Democrats across the nation, particularly in New York City, which has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
The fissures over the war have been evident in street protests, at college campuses and at the ballot box, where pro-Israel interests helped defeat Representative Jamaal Bowman in a Democratic primary in June. Now they threaten to roil next year’s Democratic primary for mayor.
Tensions rose last month, when Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, entered the mayoral race. Mr. Lander, who is Jewish, defines himself as a “progressive Zionist,” and has called for a cease-fire while expressing concern for Israeli hostages and Palestinians.
Some of his views on the war fall in line with other Jewish Democrats such as Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader, but Mr. Lander also has ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, which has harshly criticized Israel and asked candidates to oppose all funding for the country. Mr. Lander’s positions are particularly unpopular in the Orthodox Jewish community, whose support helped Eric Adams become mayor in 2021.
Some of Mr. Adams’s Jewish allies are pushing the notion that Mr. Lander’s candidacy is a nonstarter for them, and some have gone as far as to question his ties to Judaism. That has outraged Mr. Lander, who said in an interview that his faith was so central to his life that he seriously considered becoming a rabbi after college.
“Coming at people’s identity — coming at people’s Jewish identity — is pretty rotten and pretty suspect,” he said in the interview, blaming Mr. Adams for the tactic.
