Congressional nominee Brad Lander heckled over Israel stance at New York protest

Lander screamed at and verbally abused as he protested against Hindu nationalist rally in Madison Square Garden

The New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander was screamed at and verbally abused by protesters over his stance on Israel as he protested against a Hindu nationalist politician speaking outside Madison Square Garden.

As Lander attended a demonstration on Saturday against the event, organized by the Hindu nationalist RSS movement and where Mohan Bhagwat, leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was speaking, he was confronted by several protesters demanding that he leave the rally.

“We don’t want no Zionists here. Get the fuck out!” one man yelled at Lander in a video circulating online. “You say you’re a liberal but we know how you act.” Another shouted: “You’re a Zionist, we don’t need you. We don’t need your help!”

Other protesters welcomed Lander’s presence at the event and defended him against the heckling. “Thank you for coming, thank you for standing in solidarity with us,” one man told Lander, shaking his hand.

Lander, who is Jewish and an outspoken critic of the Israeli government, describes himself as a liberal Zionist – stating that he believes in the vision of Israel as a safe, Jewish home, but argues that it cannot ever be a true democracy while it continues to occupy Palestinian land and deny Palestinians their human rights and freedom.

He condemns Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, supported the restriction of US military aid to Israel , and believes that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks amounts to genocide.

An ally of the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and a former comptroller for the city, Lander is the progressive candidate for the US House of Representatives New York’s 10th congressional district. His critical approach to Israel was a key factor in his thumping primary victory in June against fellow Jew and Zionist Dan Goldman, a prominent supporter of Israel.

Lander appeared undeterred by the abuse and determined to remain at the rally, which he had been invited to, on Saturday. In one exchange, he calmly responded, “Bring it on,” when a protester wearing a face mask and sunglasses shouted in his face that he was a “Zionist ball sack”.

Addressing the incident in a video message on X on Monday, Lander said: “The event was dedicated to standing up against the persecution of religious minorities in India. I was honored to be invited and glad to participate.

“I won’t stop joining rallies against hate – in India, in Israel and Palestine, or in New York City – because of a couple of loud numbskulls.”

Lander went on: “I was proud to attend. As a Jewish New Yorker, I protest when I believe people are perverting Judaism to justify ethnic cleansing and exclusion, and I feel solidarity for Muslims who are doing the same.”

He reiterated his critical stance on Israel’s actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, and noted that he gets “criticized frequently by centrist and rightwing Jews. And as someone who nonetheless believes in the vision and the possibility of a Jewish and democratic Israel, alongside a free Palestine, once decades of occupation and apartheid end, I get criticized by leftwingers who oppose Zionism.”

He stressed the importance of people coming together, even when they don’t always agree on everything. “A few loud numbskulls must not deter us from building multi-faith, multi-racial coalitions for justice,” he said.

He also thanked the Hindu and Muslim groups that had leapt to his defense on Sunday. The Indian American Muslim Council said on X : “The individuals responsible were not part of IAMC or our coalition and did not speak for us. Our fight … requires building strong coalitions, respecting differences, and working together wherever we share common ground. Insulting or silencing allies undermines that work and is unacceptable. We offer Brad Lander our sincere apologies for the treatment he received.”

Hindus for Human Rights said on X: “Brad Lander is a Jewish leader who has vocally disavowed the genocide in Palestine and is a rare progressive voice against the RSS. Multiple organizations invited Brad to the protest as a longtime ally who understands the majority’s role in combating hate in their communities.”

The confrontations Lander experienced are telling of tensions within the United States over Israel. Public opinion in the US has shifted against the country over its actions in Gaza in a historic way, while a wave of progressive candidates have swept to victory amid pro-Palestinian sentiment and criticism of Israel.

The incident has also tapped into an aspect of the debate where the lines between anti-Zionism and antisemitism are often blurred, with some commentary on social media suggesting that people hurled abuse at Lander because he is Jewish.

But in a video shared on Substack, the liberal commentator Peter Beinart argued that the people harassing Lander “are rude, obnoxious, self-righteous, they’re really kind of acting like assholes. But they’re not saying anything antisemitic.”

Highlighting that the protesters explicitly took issue with Lander’s self-declared Zionism, not his Jewishness, Beinart added: “The term antisemite should be reserved for clear cases in which people have an animus towards Jews as Jews.”