But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Brad Lander
Democrat · U.S. House, New York District 10
✓OpposesFrom their own words
How this mark works
We track key votes on sending U.S. weapons and money to the government of Israel. A check means every tracked vote they cast came down against sending more, on the side of peace and de-escalation. A question mark means a mixed record: they sided with sending up to half of the time. An X means they voted to send more weapons and money in over half of their tracked votes, even as the way those weapons and dollars were being used became more and more obvious. At exactly half, money this election cycle from a lobbying group we track, or an endorsement from a group that backs sending weapons, makes it an X. Only votes actually cast are counted. Where a candidate has no recorded votes on these bills, the mark comes instead from a reviewed reading of their public record (money from the lobbying groups we track, endorsements, and their own words since January 26, 2024). There an X also covers fully backing the conduct of the war by the government of Israel without significant reservations, and a question mark also covers speaking about Israel without saying clearly where they stand on U.S. weapons and funding. A dash means No Position Found: we found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.
Lander endorsed the Block the Bombs Act to bar offensive munitions transfers to Israel, and wants the Leahy Law enforced on all U.S. aid. He says Israel should buy Iron Dome with its own money rather than U.S. taxpayer funds.
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Lander is the former New York City Comptroller and won the June 23, 2026 Democratic primary in NY-10. His position is unusually detailed for a first-time House candidate, and it distinguishes between offensive and defensive systems rather than treating aid as one lever.
On February 10, 2026 he endorsed the Block the Bombs Act, H.R. 3565, which would prohibit transferring specific offensive munitions to Israel including JDAMs, bunker busters, tank rounds and artillery shells. He set out the reasoning the same day in an essay in The Nation titled "To Build Bridges, We Must Block the Bombs".
In April 2026 he went further on conditions, arguing for enforcement of the Leahy Law on all U.S. assistance to Israel and saying Israel was failing to meet international human rights standards. He drew a line on defensive systems: Iron Dome is essential for civilian safety and Israel should be able to buy it, but the U.S. "should not provide taxpayer-funded financial aid for it at this time". In July 2026 he endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, in a joint statement pledging to end U.S. military aid to Israel while it violates international human rights law.
He holds that alongside a self-description as a "liberal Zionist" who supports Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state, while calling its operations in Gaza genocide. On CNN in July 2026 he argued Israel cannot be a true democracy while occupying the West Bank and Gaza, and said "Israelis will not be safe until Palestinians are free".
The money
Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found
2026 support from the five lobbying groups we track
Nothing recorded (as of 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
✓ Endorsed by Peace Action +1 more
Peace ActionA national peace and disarmament group. Its endorsements cover war, Pentagon spending and diplomacy broadly, not only U.S. weapons for the government of Israel.A New Policy PACA group backing congressional candidates who want a new U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine grounded in U.S. and international law, including conditions on military aid.These endorsements come from groups that push to restrict or end U.S. weapons transfers to the government of Israel. Endorsements from these groups are shown for information; they do not decide the mark.
In their words
“should not provide taxpayer-funded financial aid for it at this time”
Peace Action (2026 endorsement) · A New Policy PAC (2026 endorsement)
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
2026-02-10 [Current position]: Endorsed the Block the Bombs Act, H.R. 3565, which would prohibit transfer of specific offensive munitions to Israel including Joint Direct Attack Munitions, bunker busters, tank rounds and artillery shells. Reported by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and Common Dreams, both in the context of an endorsement against the incumbent.
2026-02-10 [Current position]: Authored an essay in The Nation, "To Build Bridges, We Must Block the Bombs", arguing the U.S. must halt offensive arms transfers to protect Palestinian civilian lives. His own byline, which makes it his position rather than a report of it.
2026-04-09 [Current position]: Advocated enforcing the Leahy Law on all U.S. foreign assistance to Israel, conditioning military aid on compliance with international human rights standards, and said Israel was failing to meet them.
2026-04-10 [Current position]: Clarified the defensive question: Iron Dome is essential for civilian safety and Israel should be permitted to buy it with its own funds, but the U.S. "should not provide taxpayer-funded financial aid for it at this time". Jewish Insider.
2026-07-09 [Current position]: Endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary with a joint statement pledging to "reset U.S. foreign policy" by ending U.S. military aid to Israel while it violates international human rights laws. JNS.
Characterization of the conflict
2023-10-27 [Months after October 7, 2023; on this page only]: In an essay on Medium he acknowledged Israel’s right to defend itself and to secure hostage releases while condemning the government’s military approach in Gaza, opposing the ground invasion, siege tactics and heavy bombardment.
2025-12 [Current position]: Told Zeteo that if elected he would vote to recognise an independent Palestinian state.
2026-06 [Current position]: Through the primary he self-identified as a "liberal Zionist" supporting Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, while characterising its operations in Gaza as meeting the definition of genocide. Covered in the Forward and an opinion piece on the primary.
2026-07-10 [Current position]: On CNN he argued Israel cannot be considered a true democracy while occupying the West Bank and Gaza and denying rights to Palestinians, said "Israelis will not be safe until Palestinians are free", and reiterated that Israeli actions in Gaza constitute genocide. Campaign video of the interview.
Rhetoric and lobbying
2026-06-25: A JTA report on an attack made against him by another candidate. About him, not by him, and not on the card.
Undated: A campaign video arguing that fighting for Palestinian human rights and against antisemitism are not opposed.
Safety and antisemitism
2025-03-02: A Times of Israel profile from his mayoral run, on crime rather than this question.
Identity and ballot status
Biography; primary result (2026-05-16). Three sources found are YouTube videos that do not name him in the text we could read.
What came back empty or unusable
No statement located on U.S. aid to Palestinians or UNRWA as a budget line, as distinct from his position on arms transfers and conditions.
His position and his self-description sit in tension by design, and he says so himself. Nothing here resolves it, because he does not.
But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and
funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps.
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