New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman said he went too far by comparing Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander, who is Jewish, to a concentration camp guard.
“Brad Lander — he’s a disgrace,” Blakeman said in a Newsmax interview on Wednesday. “He’s anti-American. He’s antisemitic, even though he’s Jewish. This guy would be a camp guard in the concentration camp if he could. He’s a disaster.”
After the interview gained traction, Blakeman told the Washington Examiner that he went too far but still believed the sentiment of his statement.
“Maybe camp guard was too strong, but certainly collaborator as Brad Lander turned his back on the Jewish community when he locked arms with the extremists who want to wipe Israel off the map, send pro-Israel Americans to concentration camps, and refuse to condemn the slaughter of women and babies on Oct. 7,” Blakeman said on Thursday.
Lander, who is open about his Jewish faith and political advocacy with leftist Jewish groups, secured the Democratic nomination in New York’s 10th Congressional District this week with the endorsement of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. His successful primary ouster of incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) has drawn mass media attention as part of a sweep of socialist victories throughout the Big Apple.
Blakeman, who is also Jewish, secured the Republican nomination to take on Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) in the general election on Tuesday as well. His comment from Wednesday has begun receiving backlash online, with longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) calling Blakeman’s words a “grotesque desecration” of the memory of Jews killed in the Holocaust.
“For Bruce Blakeman to invoke the Holocaust to smear a fellow Jewish man is beyond the pale — it is a grotesque desecration of the memory of six million Jews,” Nadler said in a statement to Semafor. “These comments are disqualifying, and they show exactly why Bruce Blakeman must never be Governor of New York.”
In the congressional primary between Lander and Goldman, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict became a central debate. Lander calls himself a “liberal Zionist,” while Goldman positioned himself as “unabashedly pro-Israel.”
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In an election-night speech, Lander said he would “stand up for Palestinian human rights” in Congress, while also committing to “stand firmly against bigotry aimed at Jews,” according to the New York Times. Lander also committed during the primary to never take money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, while hitting Goldman hard for doing so.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Lander for comment.