Dem pol Brad Lander ripped as 'Zionist balls--k' by lefty protesters outside Hindu-nationalist speech

Key Points:

• Brad Lander, Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th Congressional district, was heckled with antisemitic slurs by protesters opposing Mohan Bhagwat, leader of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), outside Madison Square Garden.
• The protesters, who oppose the RSS for its treatment of religious minorities, rejected Lander's presence despite his criticism of Israel and self-identification as a “liberal Zionist.”
• New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly opposed the RSS event, condemning its exclusionary ideology but acknowledged the city could not cancel the private gathering.
• The RSS, linked ideologically to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP, has been accused by the US Commission of International Religious Freedom of promoting violence and intolerance, though the group denies these claims.
• The protest highlighted deep divisions within the Indian American community and broader debates over Hindu nationalism and pluralism in the US.