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He was Zohran Mamdani’s Jewish wingman. What’s next for Brad Lander?
(JTA) — When Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani were jointly honored at a left-wing Jewish event in September, the two politicians’ alliance was at the center of the evening.
Lander, who had cross-endorsed Mamdani in the Democratic primary months earlier, said he was “proud to be a Jew for Zohran” during his speech at the Mazals gala, hosted by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. The pair hugged onstage as comedian Ilana Glazer introduced them. The mood was celebratory, albeit sprinkled with cautious reminders that there was still a general election to win.
Nearly two months later, Mamdani fulfilled expectations with an election win. Lander would attend his election night rally, celebrating Andrew Cuomo’s loss with a T-shirt that read “Good f—ing riddance.”
But his future in the city’s new order was uncertain. After Lander reportedly angled for a top position in Mamdani’s City Hall, Mamdani filled out his leadership team with others, leaving Lander in the cold when his tenure as comptroller ends next month. Now, he appears to be considering a run for Congress in his district, setting up a potential rare instance of a Jewish progressive challenging a Jewish centrist.
“I won’t be making any news tonight,” Lander warned with a smile at an event Wednesday night for Standing Together, an Israel-Palestinian peace-building organization. Supporters greeted him after the event, many saying they’d be happy to canvass and vote for him should he run for Congress.
“There are many ways to serve, and I will have more to say about the ones that I am looking forward to in the future,” Lander said in an interview after the event.
Lander told Crain’s New York Business last week that he is “very seriously considering” challenging Rep. Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th Congressional District in next year’s midterm Democratic primary. A poll taken last month suggests that he would stand a strong chance.
Israel would likely weigh heavily in a Lander-Goldman matchup. Lander is a self-described liberal Zionist whose criticism of Israel has intensified since his alliance with Mamdani, a longtime anti-Zionist. Goldman is a moderate who did not endorse in the general election for mayor, saying he was “very concerned about some of the rhetoric coming from Zohran Mamdani,” and that he wanted to see Mamdani condemn “violence in the name of anti-Israel, anti-Zionism.”
The New York Times reported on Friday that Mamdani had urged Lander to challenge Goldman — in the same conversation where he told Lander he wouldn’t be hiring him at City Hall.
The 10th Congressional District covers Lower Manhattan, as well as parts of western and central Brooklyn, where Lander was a three-term City Council member. While Lower Manhattan was more split in the general election, most of the district’s Brooklyn neighborhoods voted overwhelmingly for Mamdani. The district also includes part of Borough Park, a neighborhood with a large Orthodox Jewish population that strongly supported the centrist mayoral candidate, Andrew Cuomo.
There has been an appetite in progressive circles for Goldman to be replaced in 2026 by a candidate more aligned with their politics. “Dump Dan” flyers were handed out to people lining up for Wednesday’s event with Lander, held in a Brooklyn Heights church that falls within the district.
“I would love to see Brad in Congress,” said Arlene Geiger, founder and coordinator of the Upper West Side Action Group, which endorsed Lander in the Democratic mayoral primary.
“I think he’s progressive and Dan Goldman is very tied to AIPAC,” she continued, referring to the Israel lobby that is seen as increasingly toxic by Democrats. “I don’t like his position on the Middle East at all. He’s more of a centrist.”
Geiger’s group is based outside the district, but she said in an interview that it “would be happy to be working” on Lander’s campaign to challenge Goldman.
A September poll by Data for Progress surveyed voters in the 10th congressional district; in a two-man race between Goldman and Lander, the poll found that Lander would win 52-33.
But Democratic strategist Trip Yang advised pumping the brakes, pointing out that polls taken so far in advance of an election “don’t matter as much” and that incumbents bring an advantage. Plus, he noted, City Council member Alexa Aviles, who’s reported to have interest in the seat, could pose an obstacle for Lander.
“In a lot of ways, Alexa Aviles has a higher ceiling as a congressional candidate than Brad Lander,” Yang said, pointing out that 20% of the district is Latino, and that she would likely have the Democratic Socialists of America’s endorsement, giving her more of “the Zohran imprint.”
At first, the DSA privately committed not to endorse any of Lander’s hypothetical opponents, but — after Lander held out while awaiting a potential job under Mamdani — has since voted to back Aviles, a longtime member, the New York Times reported on Friday, adding that multiple sources said Mamdani has said he would back Lander. Maneuvering is reportedly underway within the left-wing group, which counts the mayor-elect as its most prominent member, to avert the progressive split that delivered the seat for Goldman in 2022.
While already a known quantity as the city’s top financial officer, Lander gained “the Zohran imprint” himself by closely associating with the mayoral frontrunner since June. Lander also gained recognition over his recent protests against ICE, for which he was arrested by federal agents at an immigration court.
After finishing third in the ranked-choice primary, Lander actively stumped for Mamdani throughout the general election campaign to help defeat Cuomo a second time.
“I was proud to do that — I have been proud all the way through the general election campaign to campaign with him, side by side,” Lander said this week. He added that he would “continue to work in close partnership” with Mamdani to achieve his campaign goals.
Throughout the election, Lander worked to ease concerns from many Jewish New Yorkers about Mamdani’s position on Israel, including his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Lander sought to reinforce Mamdani’s commitment to the safety of Jewish New Yorkers, and showcased the democratic socialist’s engagement with Jewish communities.
He brought Mamdani to the progressive synagogue Kolot Chayeinu, where Lander is a member, for Rosh Hashanah services, and accompanied Mamdani for Kol Nidre services at another progressive congregation.
He spoke highly of Mamdani at the Mazals. “Having an immigrant Muslim mayor with a genuinely inclusive vision — and that brilliant smile — it offers us a chance for us to strengthen what is, for so many of us, so deeply Jewish about this city,” Lander said. “And that’s why I’m proud to be a Jew for Zohran.”
Critics said Lander’s efforts merely “kosherized” antisemitism at a time when fierce reaction to the war in Gaza led to Jews feeling unsafe and isolated, and anti-Jewish attacks rose.
“Lander is part of a larger story of the collapse of New York’s Jewish-political establishment, which has forced Jews to seek representation in non-Jewish politicians who inevitably get told to mind their business when they criticize anti-Semitism,” the conservative pundit Seth Mandel wrote in Commentary in June. “Lander has played an important role in this collapse by being a sherpa of sorts for rising Jew-baiters.”
And as the election wore on, Lander seemingly moved closer toward Mamdani’s positions; he began using the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s military campaign in Gaza — a term he had previously refrained from using — during a Yom Kippur service in October.
Lander credited that shift in terminology to conversations he had with his daughter, who had read Raphael Lemkin — the Holocaust survivor who coined the term “genocide” — in a college class.
“She had read a lot of Lemkin and she brought it forward to me, and pushed me pretty hard,” he said. “And we had a lot of conversation, debate back and forth — we’re not so different from many other families full of liberal Zionist parents and further left kids.”
He added, “You can continue to be a liberal Zionist who believes in the vision of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and be honest about what Israel has been doing to Palestinians in Gaza, and the West Bank as well.”
In his efforts to warm Jewish voters to the idea of voting for Mamdani, Lander spoke to groups like the Upper West Side Action Group — which had endorsed him in the primary — and took questions about Mamdani from an audience that was mostly Jewish.
Geiger, the group’s coordinator, said Lander’s endorsement helped grow Mamdani’s support among their voters who were unsure because of the candidate’s stance on Israel, as well as the 34-year-old Assembly member’s lack of executive experience.
“There were those, I think, who were swayed by Brad’s endorsement because they like Brad, and knew him,” said Geiger, who is Jewish.
Yang said he believed that Lander’s advocacy boosted Mamdani’s appeal. “I don’t know if Zohran has this big of a winning margin without Brad Lander,” he said. “You have to give Brad credit for this.”
The post He was Zohran Mamdani’s Jewish wingman. What’s next for Brad Lander? appeared first on The Forward.
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Israel Helps Somaliland Tackle Water Crisis, Welcomes First Ambassador After Recognition
Israel’s special envoy for water issues, Ambassador Rony Yedidia Clein, center, stands with Somaliland’s director-general at the Ministry of Water Development, Aden Abdela Abdule, second from the right, and other officials at a waste treatment facility in Israel, Feb. 25, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
Israel has initiated a multi-prong approach to aid Somaliland in overcoming a series of droughts which have plagued the Horn of Africa region for years, lending its support in water management and other areas as the two sides formally establish diplomatic relations.
On Monday, the first official delegation from Somaliland — 25 water sector workers — arrived in Israel following Jerusalem’s decision in December to become the first country to officially recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state
Israel’s agency for international development cooperation, MASHAV, is spearheading the collaboration effort.
“Honored to welcome this morning the participants of the 1st [MASHAV] tailor-made course for Somaliland’s National Water Authority (SNWA) ‘National Water Resources Planning and Management,’ building capabilities and bilateral cooperation,” the Israeli agency’s head, Eynat Shlein, posted on social media.
Israel’s envoy for water issues, Ambassador Rony Yedidia Clein, and the Somaliland visitors toured the National Center for Water Education and Innovation at the Shafdan wastewater treatment complex in Rishon LeZion.
Despite being largely arid and having limited natural freshwater supply, Israel has emerged as a global leader in water management, recycling nearly 90 percent of its wastewater, primarily for agricultural irrigation.
Aden Abdela Abdule, who serves as director general of Somaliland’s Ministry of Water Development, met with Eden Bar Tal, director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry. According to Shlein, the two officials “stressed the importance of the bilateral relations and the joint partnership. During the meeting and a separate discussion with the MASHAV team, we discussed the vast potential to cooperation between the two states.”
The situation has become dire for Somaliland’s farmers struggling with thirsty crops.
“We are desperate,” Faysal Omar Salah, who operates a family farm near the village of Lallays, told AFP, describing how his children survive on milk from his cattle. “If the rain crisis continues, we will just leave this land and go to a town. We hope Israel will help us cultivate our dry land.”
Israeli experts will reportedly visit Somaliland soon to aid in installing technology to counter a variety of water challenges which have hit the African country’s 6.2 million inhabitants. Over the last five years, the rainy seasons in the region have arrived late and diminished, causing shortages, regular droughts, and a need to rely on groundwater. In addition, Somaliland has seen water losses in its city regions and lacks major monitoring technology.
“Inshallah, Israel is going to help us changing our practices. Because if you want to change practices, you need to have knowledge,” Agriculture Ministry official Mokhtar Dahir Ahmed told AFP.
Meanwhile, Israel and Somaliland have moved to formalize their diplomatic relations.
On Wednesday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced it had formally welcomed Dr. Mohamed Haji, recognizing him as the fully accredited Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Somaliland to Israel. Israel will reciprocate by naming its ambassador to Somaliland in the coming weeks.
Somaliland’s President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi is scheduled to make his first official visit to Israel at the end of March, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. He had previously visited in December for discreet negotiations that led to the partnership with the Jewish state.
According to experts, the growing Israel-Somaliland partnership could be a “game changer” for Israel, boosting the Jewish state’s ability to counter the Yemen-based Houthi terrorist group while offering strategic and geographic advantages amid shifting regional power dynamics.
Unlike most other states in the region, Somaliland has relative security, regular elections, and a degree of political stability — qualities that make it a valuable partner for international allies and a key player in regional cooperation.
Somaliland, which has claimed independence for decades in East Africa but remains largely unrecognized, is situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the south and east. It has sought to break off from Somalia since 1991 and utilized its own passports, currency, military, and law enforcement. The region remains distinct from the rest of Somalia due to the dominance of the Isaaq clan.
However, several Arab, Islamic, and African countries, including regional powers, publicly rejected the move, as did other states such as China.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud warned Israel at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha on Feb. 7 against establishing a military base in Somaliland.
“We will confront any Israeli forces that enter, because we oppose this and will never allow it,” he said.
That same day, the Somali president blasted Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland in an interview with Iran’s PressTV propaganda network. Mohamud labeled Israel’s recognition as “reckless, fundamentally wrong, and illegal action under international law.”
The European Union also opposed the decision, saying it “reaffirms the importance of respecting the unity, the sovereignty, and the territorial integrity” of Somalia.
US President Donald Trump has said he opposes recognition of Somaliland, but his administration defended Israel’s decision, saying Jerusalem “has the same right to conduct diplomatic relations as any other sovereign state.”
Somaliland’s minister of the presidency, Khadar Hussein Abdi, told AFP on Saturday that the government is prepared to offer mineral rights and military infrastructure in exchange for recognition from the United States. The region includes significant lithium deposits, putting it in potential competition with China which currently dominates the market, controlling roughly 65-70 percent of the world’s lithium refining capacities and 60 percent of rare earthing mining.
“Situated along the Gulf of Aden near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait – a chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Suez Canal and carrying roughly 10 percent of global seaborne trade – the territory [Somaliland] offers not only resource potential but strategic logistics leverage,” Anne-Laure Klein, managing director in the portfolio operations group for Rothschild and Company, wrote on Thursday in Energy Capital & Power, a publication which encourages energy investments in Africa.
“For Washington, combining mineral access with positioning along a key maritime corridor could strengthen both supply chain security and transatlantic export routes at a time of intensifying geopolitical competition,” she added. “The question now is whether diplomatic recognition will follow – and if strategic geography and untapped minerals together are enough to tip the balance.”
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Young Republicans Flock to Anti-Israel Candidate in Florida Governor’s Race
Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback. Photo: Screenshot
A radically anti-Israel candidate in Florida’s Republican primary for governor is by far the most popular choice for young voters, despite being accused of antisemitism, a new poll has found.
The University of North Florida poll, released on Tuesday, showed 31-year-old James Fishback, the founder and chief executive of the investment firm Azoria, leading comfortably among Republican voters aged 18–34.
While Fishback remains a long-shot contender overall, the results found he captured 32 percent support among younger Republicans surveyed, compared to just 8 percent for US Rep. Byron Donalds, who continues to lead the broader primary field. Another 46 percent said they were not sure.
Overall, Donalds leads the field with 31 percent support, followed by Fishback far behind at 6 percent. More than half of those polled, 51 percent, said they were not sure who to support.
Fishback has drawn criticism for relentlessly attacking Israel and, according to some critics, veering into antisemitic discourse.
While addressing students at the University of Central Florida earlier this month, Fishback said he “will not visit the country of Israel under any circumstances.” The candidate went on to mock the Western Wall, calling it a “stupid wall.”
“This is how antisemitism rebrands itself in 2026,” Rabbi Steven Burg, the CEO of Aish, a global Jewish educational organization, wrote of Fishback’s comments in a recent op-ed for the Sun Sentinel.
Fishback has also criticized Donalds for arranging a forum at a south Florida synagogue, accusing the congressman of expressing favoritism toward Jewish people. The insurgent candidate also came under fire for praising supporters of antisemitic social media personality Nick Fuentes as “patriots” and “civil.”
“We had a great conversation, and they have a real pulse for what is going on in the country,” Fishback said of Fuentes’s supporters.
In December, the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) released a report analyzing online support for Fuentes, suggesting he has received a major boost from inauthentic amplification by anonymous actors in foreign countries such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
If elected, Fishback has vowed to direct all state government entities to “divest” from bonds issued by the Israeli government on his first day in office. He has also accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and stated that the supposed “genocide” should be taught in Florida public schools.
Donalds, a stalwart conservative and strident ally of US President Donald Trump, has established himself as a firm supporter of Israel. The lawmaker expressed support for Israel’s right to self-defense in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. As skepticism about Israel has surged within the Republican Party in recent months, Donalds has maintained strong vocal support for the Jewish state.
During an interview with Fox Business in December, Donalds lamented rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment within the country and around the world.
“This level of antisemitism, this hatred against Jewish people and against Israel, it’s out of control. It’s insane,” Donalds said.
The latest University of North Florida poll, conducted among likely Republican voters in Florida, included a small sample of 39 respondents in the 18–34 age bracket. Though limited in scope, the findings reflect a broader trend seen in some national surveys, indicating a generational shift among parts of the Republican Party, with younger voters expressing more skepticism toward both Israel and American Jews than their older counterparts.
For example, the Manhattan Institute, a prominent US-based think tank, released a major poll in December examining the evolving makeup of the Republican Party (GOP) and its current attitudes toward Israel and Jewish Americans.
According to the results, newer entrants to the GOP are more likely to be antisemitic
“Anti-Jewish Republicans are typically younger, disproportionately male, more likely to be college-educated, and significantly more likely to be New Entrant Republicans,” the survey found. “They are also more racially diverse. Consistent church attendance is one of the strongest predictors of rejecting these attitudes; infrequent church attendance is, all else equal, one of the strongest predictors of falling into this segment.”
This group is also in general more politically liberal, according to the survey: “Given that many of these voters are younger and former Democrats, more progressive policy tendencies are unsurprising.”
The data also showed that older GOP voters are much more supportive of Israel and less likely to express antisemitic views than their younger cohorts.
According to the data, 25 percent of GOP voters under 50 openly express antisemitic views as opposed to just 4 percent over the age of 50.
Startlingly, a substantial amount, 37 percent, of GOP voters indicate belief in Holocaust denialism. These figures are more pronounced among young men under 50, with a majority, 54 percent, agreeing that the Holocaust “was greatly exaggerated or did not happen as historians describe.” Among men over 50, 41 percent agree with the sentiment.
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Fetterman Hosts AIPAC, Bondi Survivor in DC Office, Voices Support for ‘Jewish Community and Our Special Ally’
US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) gives an interview in his office in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 18, 2024. Photo: Rod Lamkey / CNP/Sipa USA for NY Post via Reuters Connect
US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) welcomed representatives from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and a survivor of the Bondi Beach massacre to his Washington, DC office on Tuesday, expressing support for the “global Jewish community” and the longstanding strategic partnership between the US and Israel.
“Proudly welcomed AIPAC and a survivor of the Bondi Beach massacre — a living reminder of the global scourge of antisemitism. My voice and vote will always stand with and support the global Jewish community and our special ally,” Fetterman posted on the social media platform X.
Proudly welcomed @AIPAC and a survivor of the Bondi Beach massacre—a living reminder of the global scourge of antisemitism.
My voice and vote will always stand with and support the global Jewish community and our special ally. pic.twitter.com/mz5damSvV9
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) February 24, 2026
Fetterman, who has emerged as a prominent pro-Israel voice among Democrats on Capitol Hill, has signaled unwavering support for the Jewish state as its standing among liberal voters and progressive lawmakers has cratered.
The Pennsylvania lawmaker has repeatedly affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself from the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza and has defended the Jewish state from unsubstantiated claims of “genocide.” He also displayed the photos of the hostages captured by Hamas-led terrorists during their Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel in his office, drawing praise from pro-Israel Americans.
Despite his party’s increasing opposition to US military support for Israel, Fetterman has repeatedly vowed to vote in favor of such support for the Jewish state, rankling the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
“I’m a really strong, unapologetic supporter of Israel and it’s really not going to change for me when [Donald] Trump becomes [president]. My vote and voice is going to follow Israel,” Fetterman said during an interview in December 2024.
One year later, Fetterman lamented the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December that killed 15 people who attended the Jewish gathering and wounded at least 40 others, expressing alarm about the global rise in antisemitism.
“After years of anti-Israel protests in Australia, at least 11 Jews were just gunned down at a Hanukkah event. Tree of Life to 10/07 to Bondi Beach: antisemitism is a rising and deadly global scourge. I stand and grieve with Israel and the Jewish global community,” he posted shortly after the shooting, using a figure based on an early death toll.
Though American lawmakers from both major political parties roundly condemned the Bondi Beach massacre, Fetterman’s decision this week to publicly meet with AIPAC, the premier pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, will likely raise eyebrows among his liberal supporters.
In the two years following the breakout of the Israel-Hamas war, AIPAC’s standing among the Democratic party has plummeted dramatically. In primary races across the country, Democratic hopefuls are being pressed on their connections to AIPAC and facing demands to pledge not to accept funding from the group, which seeks to foster bipartisan support for the US-Israel relationship. The emergence of AIPAC support as a kind of litmus test has raised concerns among Jewish Democrats that the party is becoming increasingly inhospitable to Jews and Zionists.
According to polls, Fetterman is unpopular among Democratic primary voters, making him vulnerable in a primary competition. Numerous progressives in the Keystone State have signaled they are gearing up to challenge Fetterman for the party nomination in 2028.
However, Fetterman maintains shockingly high approval ratings among Republicans and strong approval ratings among independents, potentially injecting a significant degree of uncertainty into the Pennsylvania Senate race if he were to run as an independent in the general election.