State Rep. Zohran Mamdani, winner of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, and Comptroller Brad Lander. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
One of the most important stories about New York State Rep. Zohran Mamdani’s decisive win in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary is actually about Brad Lander.
Lander, the city’s comptroller and its highest-ranking elected Jewish official, was also running in the primary. Late in the game, he and Mamdani, who is Muslim, cross-endorsed one another, encouraging voters to select both candidates through the city’s ranked-choice voting system. That move might well have sealed Mamdani’s stunning victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. And it should provide Israel’s opposition with a playbook for defending their own government against the kind of vicious Islamophobia that tried to derail Mamdani’s campaign.
Lander endorsed Mamdani despite being clear that he disagrees with him on some major points. “I do not agree with Zohran on every issue, including Israel/Palestine. But I believe in his integrity, his commitment to justice, and his work for our city. And I know that Jewish New Yorkers will be safe in a city where Zohran is in leadership.”
In the current political climate — in which support for Palestinian rights is often cast as a threat to Jewish safety, and Muslim politicians are scrutinized for their every word on Israel — that statement from one of New York’s most respected Jewish officials was an earthquake. I can write about one New Yorker for whom it made the difference: me.
Israel’s centrist opposition leaders ought to take notes: You don’t need to fully agree with a political ally to stand up for them in crucial moments.
The Knesset is facing one such moment right now, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition pursues impeachment proceedings against MK Ayman Odeh, the leader of Israel’s largest Jewish-Arab party.
Odeh’s supposed violation: Expressing solidarity with both Israelis and Palestinians during Israel’s war on Gaza.
Odeh has spoken out against Israel’s war in Gaza — which has so far killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry — and expressed relief when both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners have been released.
Both of these are eminently human positions. And the move to expel Odeh is political theater: If he is successfully impeached, the Israeli Supreme Court will very likely overturn it.
But the underlying motivation should unnerve anyone who cares about Israeli democracy. It is an attempt to criminalize sympathy with Palestinians, and shut down dissent in the halls of power. That is not what democracy looks like.
While Odeh faces expulsion, where are his Jewish colleagues? Where are the Jewish leaders of the opposition — especially those who call themselves liberals, progressives, believers in democracy?
And why can’t they do what Lander did: Say they might disagree with Odeh on the details when it comes to Palestinians, but stand up against the influx of bigoted and obviously bad-faith Islamophobia driving the governing coalition’s decision making?
Lander didn’t hedge. He didn’t distance himself. He didn’t equivocate. Instead, he modeled what so many of us have long hoped to see: principled Jewish leadership that understands solidarity as more than performative allyship, and that sees Jewish safety and Muslim political power not as contradictions, but as interdependent.
Lander’s words didn’t just show support — they helped reshape the narrative. Mamdani was being painted by his opponents as dangerous and extreme. But Lander’s endorsement put forward a more positive vision: one of partnership between communities, and a shared future in a multiracial, multi-faith democracy.
Lander and Mamdani have spoken together about their friendship, about learning from each other, and about their shared belief that real safety comes from solidarity. As Lander has put it, “If we want to win, we can only win together.”
This is what democracy should look like: difficult, complicated, built on respect and disagreement, yes, but also on shared values and mutual protection. It’s what New York City’s Democratic voters showed us last week.
Odeh, in Israel, has consistently championed shared society. He has worked across lines of difference to promote Jewish-Arab partnership. He has stood beside Jewish colleagues in fighting for civil rights and labor protections, and against rising authoritarianism.
And yet, with few exceptions — notably Odeh’s fellow MKs Yair Golan and Gilad Kariv — Odeh’s Jewish colleagues are not standing with him. They are either silent, absent or actively voting against him.
The message that this sends to Palestinian citizens of Israel is that their Jewish colleagues will not take risks to defend them. It tells the Israeli public — Jewish and Arab alike — that speaking up for the fate of Gaza’s civilians, for human rights, for justice, even when it’s for all people including Israelis, can be disqualifying.
Imagine if just one opposition leader stood up and said what Lander did: “I may not agree with every word my colleague says. But I trust him. I see his integrity. And I know our democracy is stronger because he is in it.”
Lander modeled what principled solidarity looks like. His actions helped ensure that a powerful, justice-oriented Muslim leader remained in the race for mayor. He demonstrated that Jewish safety does not require Muslim silence. That, in fact, our safeties are intertwined.
Israeli politicians who believe in democracy, who believe in equality, who believe in a future where all citizens belong — this is your moment. Speak up. Say the thing that’s hard to say. Stand with your Palestinian colleagues. Stand with Ayman. Be like Brad.
