Ryan EXCLUSIVE: Synagogue Attacker Family Killed By Israel

Brad Lander asserts that the US engagement in Iran was a 'war of choice,' not driven by an immediate threat of nuclear weapons, but rather influenced by figures like Netanyahu. He condemns it for causing thousands of deaths, millions of refugees, and irreparable damage to international law and US credibility.

Lander states, 'the war needs to end today. We shouldn't spend any more money on it and I am opposed to it.' He cites a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that Iran wasn't close to nuclear weapons and Marco Rubio's comment about Netanyahu baiting Trump into war.

Lander directly connects the escalation of violence in the Middle East to a rise in domestic anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents. He argues that reckless wars create a diffuse effect of spreading and normalizing violence more broadly, leading to acts like the Michigan synagogue attack.

Following the Michigan synagogue attack, Lander states, 'it is also true that in the wake of war, uh, violence gets, um, more common.' He also notes, 'when Israel is at war, there are more acts of anti-semitic violence against Jews around the world. That doesn't justify them, but it is a fact.'

Lander supports addressing New York City's budget deficit by increasing taxes on the ultra-wealthy and closing tax loopholes, rather than cutting essential services. He highlights the popularity of such measures and the potential for compromise with the state legislature.

Lander discusses the state senate's proposal to eliminate a $600 million tax break on gold bullion. He states, 'the right answer is to in modestly increase taxes on the wealthiest folks' and 'a modest increase on New Yorkers who make over $25 million a year who love New York City. Um they're not going to leave it as a result of a modest tax increase.'

The host and Lander discuss how groups like APAC, ADL, and Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside neo-Nazis, conflate all Jews with the State of Israel. This collective responsibility narrative, they argue, puts Jewish people at increased risk of violence.

The host states, 'groups like Apac and ADL all the way up to Benjamin Netanyahu himself love to conflate all Jews with the state of Israel... When you create that perception, then yes, that is going to create more danger and more risk for all sorts of Jewish people.' Lander agrees.