NY’s Lander endorses Michigan candidate El-Sayed, who said Dem support for Israel is only about money

Brad Lander, a progressive Democrat who won a congressional primary in New York City last month, endorses anti-Israel Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed in his Democratic Senate primary.

Lander, who is Jewish, identifies as a Zionist but opposes US military aid to Israel and has accused the country of genocide. He is closely allied with anti-Israel New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and has campaigned with anti-Zionists.

El-Sayed has a history of hardline rhetoric against Israel and its supporters.

Asked this week by CNN whether one could be Zionist and progressive, El-Sayed said, “Every definition of a Jewish state ends up in some articulation of illiberal values, every single one.”

And asked whether support of Israel could be about something other than money, he said, “Not if you’re a Democrat and you believe in human rights.”

The progressive Nexus Project called that statement “a clear example of anti-Zionism crossing into antisemitism.”

He has equivocated between Israel and Hamas and refused to say whether he backs Israel’s right to exist. He has called his pro-Israel opponent, Haley Stevens, “a suit with a large AIPAC bank account,” a reference to the pro-Israel lobby backing her.

Lander says he and El-Sayed will be allies in Washington.

“Abdul and I will also be partners in resetting US foreign policy to achieve a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis, beginning by ending US military aid to Israel while it violates international law and Palestinian human rights,” Lander says.

In last month’s Democratic primary, Lander defeated a Jewish incumbent who was to his right on Israel, and is heavily favored to win the November election.