NYC congressional candidate laments ‘obsession’ with Israel in politics
Democrat Micah Lasher says he is 'exhausted' by incessant discourse surrounding Jewish state, urges more focus on domestic issues
NEW YORK — A candidate in a New York City congressional campaign lamented the “obsession” with Israel in US politics during an event on Monday, reflecting frustration among American Jews with how issues related to Israel have become pervasive in campaign discourse.
New York State Assemblymember Micah Lasher was asked about the Democratic Party’s increasing antagonism toward Israel and the question of US aid to Israel during the forum at the B’nai Jeshurun Synagogue on the Upper West Side.
Lasher, a Jewish centrist, is one of the leading candidates in the race for New York’s 12th Congressional District.
“I spend a great deal of time wrestling with the challenges and the horrors of what is going on in Israel. I am not obsessed with Israel, and I worry, sometimes, that our political dialogue and the political dialogue in this race is obsessed with Israel,” Lasher said.
The moderator, New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg, interjected, saying, “Well, we’re in a synagogue.”
“As the leading proponents of the idea that antisemitism is different from anti-Zionism will tell you, being in a synagogue does not mean that your life is about Israel,” Lasher said.
He added that there were pressing domestic issues in New York City and the US, such as housing and child care.
Lasher said he was pained by deaths in Gaza and angered by settler activity in the West Bank, while still supporting Israel’s existence, and that the issues were too complex to fit into brief responses during candidate forums.
“I am exhausted by the dialogue in this campaign. I am exhausted by the obsession on a plot of land the size of New Jersey,” he said. “I care about the survival of Israel as a Jewish state. I am heartbroken by the killing of Palestinians. I will look at every policy question through those lenses.”
“My answers will be complicated. They will not fit into 90 seconds and I’m tired of the obsession on this topic,” he said, to applause.
Lasher is running in the crowded race to succeed US Representative Jerry Nadler, who is retiring.
The latest poll, released last month, showed Lasher leading with a slight plurality of 22% support.
The district, covering Manhattan’s Upper West Side and Upper East Side, has the largest Jewish population of any congressional district in the US, with around 181,000 Jewish voters accounting for 23% of the voting population, according to a 2024 study.
The district’s primary takes place on June 23.