A Long Island state Assembly race has devolved into a proxy fight over loyalty to Israel, with both candidates spending their time proving who stands tougher for a foreign government rather than addressing the cost of living, crime, and border collapse facing actual constituents.
Republican David Hassid and the Nassau County GOP launched mailers and an ad attacking Democrat Kim Keiserman for donating $1,000 to Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock in August 2022 and $500 to Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico in October 2025. The ad accuses Keiserman of "bankrolling" anti-Israel politicians, showing images of protesters burning Israeli and American flags.
"If you care about Israel and the U.S., you need to know Assembly candidate Kim Keiserman bankrolled the campaigns of anti-Israel candidates," the Nassau GOP ad states. The mailers go further, calling Warnock antisemitic based on a 2018 sermon where he criticized Israeli defense forces for shooting "unarmed Palestinian sisters and brothers."
Hassid, the son of Iranian Jewish refugees who fled persecution during Iran's 1979 revolution, leaned into the foreign allegiance frame. "My opponent has put her personal finances behind politicians who have actively worked against the State of Israel – in word and in deed," he said. "As the son of parents who escaped religious persecution in Iran, I will never stand with the forces of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism."
Notice what's missing from that statement: any mention of Long Island voters' actual problems.
Keiserman fired back, but on the right grounds — not by disputing that foreign loyalty should matter, but by calling the attacks dishonest. "David Hassid has zero experience, no record, and no plan to bring down higher costs that have arisen from the policies he supports," she said. "So his handlers are spreading lies to cover for an empty suit." She called exploiting fears of antisemitism for political gain "disgraceful" and challenged Hassid to debate.
The 16th Assembly District covers Great Neck, Kings Point, Port Washington, Manhasset and surrounding communities — areas where residents are paying more for groceries, gas and housing while the state's crime and migration crises go unaddressed. The seat is open because Republican Assemblyman Daniel Norber declined to seek re-election.
The Post framed the race entirely through the lens of Israel allegiance, treating the GOP's foreign-loyalty attacks as the legitimate center of the contest. What neither candidate nor the coverage addresses: why an American state legislative seat — which has zero jurisdiction over foreign aid or military policy — should turn on which candidate is more devoted to the interests of a foreign government.
Follow the money here. Hassid's entire pitch rests on his family's story and his commitment to Israel's security. Keiserman's donations to Warnock and Talarico totaled $1,500 — and both donations went to federal candidates in other states, raising the question of why a New York Assembly candidate was funding out-of-state Senate races at all. But the deeper question is why the metric for serving Long Island constituents is being defined by positions on Israeli policy rather than positions on Long Island policy.
The founders who gathered in taverns to plan a republic didn't envision American legislators proving their fitness by competing to demonstrate allegiance to foreign powers. They had quite the opposite in mind.
