New York's Jews and How They Vote: Democrat or Republican?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

    Brad Lander was a Reform Jewish candidate for New York's mayor position 

New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani,  is joined by fellow mayoral candidate Brad Lander during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City.

(photo credit: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/GETTY IMAGES)

Brad didn't make it through the first voting;  Mamdani did for the Democratic Party.                  

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran K. Mamdani and NYC comptroller Brad Lander speak during the Jews For Racial And Economic Justice's Mazals Gala on September 10, 2025 in New York City. (credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images)

 Bradford Scott Lander (born July 8, 1969)56 years old,  is an American politician, urban planner, and community organizer who has served as the 45th New York City comptroller since 2022. A progressive member of the Democratic Party, Lander was elected to the New York City Council in 2009, serving for twelve years, later serving as Deputy Leader for Policy. His district included portions of Brooklyn. In 2021, Lander was elected city comptroller, and assumed office on January 1, 2022. He was endorsed by progressives such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (I'm shocked !) and Elizabeth Warren. Here's who he had to contend with:    

Israel and Palestine                        

                

 Linda Sarsour,

 

born 1980, 45 years old

, 

 is a former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York.  A Muslim of Palestinian descent, Sarsour first gained attention for protesting police surveillance of American Muslims,  her stance and remarks on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have been criticized by some conservatives and Jewish leaders and organizations. Sarsour has advocated for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories and expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.(But, Linda, Hamas is always shooting at us;  Hamas is the fighting element of Palestinians and you civilians voted them in!)  

 Dov Hikind (born June 30, 1950) 75,  is an American politician, activist, and radio talk show host in the state of New York. Hikind served as a Democratic New York State Assemblyman representing Brooklyn's Assembly district 48 for 35 years – from January 1983 until December 2018. He's from a very orthodox Jewish family.  Hikind grew up in a Haredi Jewish family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, his father being a devout follower of the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty. His parents were both Holocaust survivors, with his mother being liberated from Auschwitz.

Lander's district includes large numbers of Jewish and Muslim people. According to The Forward, Lander has worked to balance relationships with both groups, "befriending both the far-right Brooklyn politician Dov Hikind and the pro-Palestinian activist and organizer Linda Sarsour". Hikind criticized Lander and other progressive politicians for not distancing themselves from Sarsour, citing her criticism of Israel and past associations with controversial figures such as Louis Farrakhan.it (Religious ethics and beliefs can be quite as different between Reform and Orthodox as there is between Catholic and Protestant, or Sunni and Sh'ai) .  His district had long been one of the most conservative districts in New York City. For instance, it gave Donald Trump 69 percent of the vote in 2016, his second-best showing in the entire state; Hikind believes that the national party has moved too far to the left, particularly on social issues, for the liking of many of his constituents

In 2020, Lander wrote that he had visited the West Bank (Judea/Samaria) to learn more about conditions under Israeli occupation and expressed support for efforts to achieve Palestinian human rights.  

Richard Goldstein, the Jewish former executive editor of the Village Voice, who lives in Greenwich Village, said he had been turned off by Mamdani’s stances on Israel, which he said would be “a recipe for a bloodbath” in the Middle East if fully acted upon.  (I'm thankful)

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dov_Hikind

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Lander

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-872329#google_vignette