Lander Accuses Israel of Genocide at Mosque with Holocaust-Denying Imam — Then Polls Up 34 Over Goldman

Former NYC Comptroller Brad Lander — the leading Democratic challenger to Rep. Dan Goldman in NY-10 — visited the Al-Khoei Islamic Center in Queens on May 15, recited a Quranic verse in Arabic, and told worshippers that denouncing Israel’s genocide in Gaza is a Jewish requirement. He also suggested Israel’s operations in Lebanon could constitute genocide. The mosque’s sheikh has a documented history of Holocaust denial and promoting Hamas. An Emerson poll released Wednesday shows Lander leading Goldman 57% to 23% among likely Democratic primary voters — a 34-point gap. JNS reported that during the same visit, the imam prayed for the Mahdi to kill infidels with his sword.

• Lander leads Goldman 57-23 in NY-10 per Emerson/WPIX — his largest polling advantage yet, with 73% support among voters under 40.
• Lander’s mosque visit on May 15 included a recitation of a Quranic verse in Arabic and a pledge to partner in Congress with Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
• The Al-Khoei Center’s founding sheikh denied the Holocaust (claiming the 6 million figure was inflated) and has promoted Hamas; Lander attended Friday prayers there.
• Lander also told the mosque audience he would vote to recognize a Palestinian state and oppose offensive weapons sales to Israel if elected.
• Rep. Goldman condemned the proposed Park Slope Food Co-op BDS boycott as antisemitic — Lander has not commented on the vote.

The NY-10 primary is becoming the clearest test case for whether open delegitimization of Israel — delivered with Jewish identity as cover — is now a winning electoral formula in a competitive Democratic district. Lander's 34-point lead among likely primary voters, built on Mamdani's endorsement and under-40 turnout, suggests the answer may be yes. The trajectory in New York tracks what ICAN has been watching across multiple competitive 2026 primaries: Jewish identity no longer correlates with pro-Israel positions, and the coalition delivering primary victories increasingly treats Israel advocacy as disqualifying.

House Republican leaders abruptly pulled a War Powers Resolution that would have directed President Trump to end U.S. military hostilities with Iran, hours before a scheduled floor vote Thursday, after it became clear they lacked enough Republican votes to defeat it. The resolution — backed by a 28-cosponsor Democratic coalition including Rep. Gabe Amo and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove — was on a path to pass with bipartisan defections. Leadership postponed the vote to June. The White House contends the War Powers Resolution no longer applies due to the existing ceasefire.

• House GOP leadership pulled the vote to halt the Iran war because they could not muster enough Republican opposition to defeat it.
• Two parallel War Powers resolutions — H.Con.Res. 103 and H.Con.Res. 104 — direct the president to remove U.S. forces from Iran hostilities within 60 days.
• H.Con.Res. 103 has 28 cosponsors, including prominent anti-Israel members; the vote is pushed to June, not killed.
• The White House argues the War Powers requirement is moot given the ceasefire, but Congress has not accepted that framing.
• Trump vowed the U.S. will seize and destroy Iran’s enriched uranium — Iran’s Supreme Leader has ordered that uranium not leave the country.

The narrowness of the margin — Republican leadership could not hold enough of its own caucus — is the significant data point. An Iran War Powers resolution passing a Republican House would directly constrain the president's military posture toward the one adversary most threatening to Israel, and would hand a major propaganda victory to the forces trying to delegitimize the U.S.-Israel military relationship. The vote is punted to June, not defeated.

The New York Times defended Nicholas Kristof’s opinion column alleging systematic Israeli sexual violence against Palestinian detainees, with the paper’s opinion editor saying it was built on a growing body of evidence and that they found no errors. Prime Minister Netanyahu called the column one of the worst blood libels in modern media history, and Israel threatened a defamation lawsuit. Critics have flagged anonymous testimony, disputed sources, and a disputed quote from former PM Olmert — but the Times stood firm. More than 300 people protested outside the NYT’s New York office this week.

• NYT opinion editor says Kristof’s column met its standards and has not issued a correction despite specific factual challenges from Israel and critics.
• Netanyahu accused the Times of spreading one of the worst blood libels in modern media history — Israel is threatening defamation action.
• A protest of 300+ people gathered outside the NYT NYC office this week over the publication.
• The column ran in a major mainstream publication, not a fringe outlet — mainstreaming sexual violence allegations in the broader anti-Israel narrative.
• Times of Israel and ynet both reported the story separately, including the paper’s rebuttal of multiple specific factual challenges.

The Times refusing to issue even a partial correction is the story, not the column itself. Institutional legitimization of sexual violence claims against Israel — by the most prestigious opinion platform in American media — accelerates the delegitimization architecture that frames Israel as beyond the pale of civilized behavior. The protest of 300+ outside the NYT office signals that organized Jewish community response is active, but the editorial line is holding.

German federal prosecutors announced charges Thursday against two men — a Danish national and an Afghan national — for allegedly helping coordinate IRGC-directed assassination plots targeting the heads of Germany’s largest Jewish organization and a prominent pro-Israel politician. The operatives reportedly collected detailed intelligence on senior Jewish community figures as preparation for assassinations and arson attacks. Germany’s intelligence community has noted a sharp escalation in Iran-linked targeting of Jewish diaspora figures since the Iran-Israel conflict.

• Two suspects — Danish national Ali S. and Afghan national Tawab M. — were charged in Hamburg state court; both arrested in Denmark in 2025.
• Targets allegedly included the head of Germany’s largest Jewish organization and a pro-Israel politician.
• The IRGC connection is direct: German prosecutors say the men coordinated with Iranian intelligence, not just sympathizers.
• The indictment comes amid Germany’s broader reassessment of its Israel posture following the flotilla controversy, creating cross-cutting political pressure.
• U.S. Treasury also sanctioned nine Lebanese and Iranian officials this week for obstructing Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Iran's operational targeting of diaspora Jewish leaders is the post-conflict continuation of the same campaign that produced the DC embassy murders last year. The IRGC is not demobilizing its assassination infrastructure — it is redirecting it toward softer Jewish community targets in allied nations. Germany, the most symbolically significant country for Jewish life in Europe, is now an active targeting zone.