On Tuesday, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found himself in a difficult position while attempting to address inflammatory remarks made by Mayor Zohran Mamdani regarding the nation's prominent pro-Israel lobbying organization, AIPAC.
Mamdani caused an uproar after characterizing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as "monsters" utilizing "dark money" in a bid to "preserve their power" during a rally last week.
While being interviewed by Playbook at a polling station in Brooklyn on Tuesday, Lander - who is Jewish, identifies as a liberal Zionist and who has been endorsed by Mamdani - conceded that he aligned with the mayor’s underlying critique of the group's financial sway.
He noted that "a lot of negative forces are at play" when it comes to AIPAC channeling massive sums of cash to sway electoral outcomes across the United States.
Despite multiple attempts by the interviewer to get a direct reaction, Lander continuously sidestepped explicitly backing or rebuking Mamdani's specific wording, which numerous Jewish community figures argue relies heavily on antisemitic tropes.
"I can only be responsible for the words I use," Lander stated. "I'm going to keep trying to simultaneously be critical when I think it's necessary, but also build in a spirit of unity and humanity."
This non-committal stance provoked Perry Swergold, a 36-year-old Jewish voter who happened to overhear the polling-site exchange. Swergold openly challenged the former comptroller, expressing frustration at Lander's reluctance to forcefully denounce Mamdani's harsh language.
"To not hear someone like you come out and say that is disappointing. I would like to hear you say that," Swergold told Lander, urging him to condemn Mamdani's "demonizing" rhetoric more clearly.
In response, Lander explained to Swergold that it is "pretty challenging" to “navigate these waters." This difficulty stems directly from the political reality that Mamdani serves as Lander's primary high-profile endorser.
"It sounds like we share a lot of perspectives on how to do it," Lander told Swergold. "I take a lot of risks, and I do take them in both directions ... I mean, you should check my mentions [on X] if you want to see how the far left feels about me."
Mamdani on Monday doubled down on his verbal broadsides against AIPAC.
“When I am speaking about AIPAC, I’m speaking about an organization that has been supportive of the status quo, that has fought any attempt to actually deliver safety to people, not just in Palestine, but frankly, through much of the region, and it is a status quo for immorality," Mamdani argued, as quoted by CNN.
“And when it comes to the way in which they defend the status quo, oftentimes they defend it through direct contributions, as we are seeing right now in New York."
Mamdani has become notorious for his antisemitic and anti-Israel statements and actions. During his election campaign, Mamdani refused to disavow the phrase “globalize the intifada". He was also called out for criticizing Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
He has repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes in its battle against Hamas in Gaza, and has vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City.
Mamdani then caused an uproar on his first day in office when he cancelled executive orders related to Israel, which were issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams.
The move cancelled an order signed by Adams in June of 2025 formally recognizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
Another executive order which was cancelled prohibited mayoral appointees and agency staff from boycotting and disinvesting from Israel.
Mamdani has faced multiple antisemitism controversies since taking office. Most recently, Mamdani boycotted the annual Israel Day Parade in New York City, becoming the first mayor to boycott the event.