The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas is having an impact on the City Council race in southern Brooklyn after a pro-Palestinian rally was held in Bay Ridge on Saturday.

Democrat Justin Brannan and Republican Ari Kagan are in a marquee matchup for the Nov. 7 general election for City Council, with early voting beginning on Saturday.

Kagan, a Jewish refugee from Belarus, fiercely attacked Brannan for failing to immediately denounce aspects of the rally after breakfast with a colleague on Saturday.

“Radioactive cowardly silence from @JustinBrannan since he shared pancakes with @BradLander in Bay Ridge yesterday morning,” the Democrat-turned-Republican wrote on X.

“Not a word about pro-HAMAS chants, anti-American and anti-Semitic signs in his own backyard. What a shame!”

Thousands of anti-Israel protesters clashed with police during the “Flood Brooklyn for Palestine” demonstration in the newly drawn 47th Council District Saturday night.

The district includes heavy Jewish, pro-Israeli neighborhoods of Bath Beach, Coney Island and Sea Gate as well as the heavily Arabic, pro-Palestinian neighborhood of Bay Ridge.

Brannan, the Democratic chair of the City Council’s budget-writing committee, addressed the complexity of the issue in a series of posts on X Sunday morning.

“Emotions are raw. All honest leaders acting in good faith must acknowledge the anger, pain, and fear of everyday Palestinians and Israelis all over the world,” he wrote. “On the most basic human level, people are terrified and angry. This anxious moment calls for leaders not fools.”

The councilman said he supports the state of Israel as well as the quest for Palestinian statehood — but made clear that both sides have a right to exist.

“I support the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. I represent one of the largest Palestinian communities in the country and I support their aspiration for self-determination to exist as an independent state. But justice for one won’t come through the erasure of another,” he wrote.

Brannan also denounced bigotry of all kinds during this tenuous and fraught moment in one of the city’s most diverse areas.

“Antisemitism, like Islamophobia, does not exist in a vacuum,” he said. “All people who perpetuate racism, bigotry, and xenophobia must be held accountable for their hateful words and actions. Our humanity is at stake and the world is watching.”

Brannan, whose political base is in Bay Ridge, recently won a tough re-election in 2021 despite Democratic struggles in other suburban outer-borough districts.

However, he has sometimes clashed with both Mayor Eric Adams and Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, his close ally and head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party. Bichotte recently called on City Hall to open migrant shelters in Brannan’s neighborhood, a politically explosive proposition.

Kagan, the GOP nominee, raised just $68,000 from donors but hauled in another $315,000 from the public matching fund. Brannan has raised $171,000 from donors but received just $170,000 in matching funds. Kagan has spent $298,000 compared to Brannan’s $208,000.

Kagan said voters are concerned with crime and quality of life issues and accused Brannan of making “terrible decisions” in the closing days of the race.

“I’m very excited to talk to voters across every neighborhood in southern Brooklyn,” Kagan said. “They’re afraid of the crime, the homelessness crisis, the mental health crisis.”

Brannan said he’s the better candidate and public servant than party switcher Kagan.

“Everyone wants an elected official who’s going to be responsive and get things done,” said Brannan. “I’m trying to show people what it could be like if you have an elected official who knows how to get things done.”

He added, of Kagan: “No one really knows what he believes and stands for because it changes by the day.”

Overall, crime is down 4% between 2022 and 2023 in the 68th Precinct, which covers much of the district, but up 11% compared to pre-pandemic tallies from 2019. That’s below the 28% surge seen citywide.

Brannan negotiated and voted for this year’s city budget. Kagan voted against it.

Other competitive Council races include:

— Firebrand Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino is facing a second challenge from Democrat Tony Avella, a former state lawmaker and councilman, to represent northeast Queens. The two faced off in 2021 and Paladino netted a narrow 390-vote win over Avella in the showdown to represent the 19th District.

— In Bronx’s District 13, Democratic incumbent Marjorie Velazquez faces a spirited challenge from Republican Kristy Marmorato, the sister of county GOP chairman Michael Rendino. Velazquez is expected to prevail

— In Brooklyn’s newly drawn 43rd district in Brooklyn, Democrat Susan Zhuang faces off against Republican Ying Tan and Conservative Party nominee Vito LaBella. Republicans have made inroads in the district that includes Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Dyker Heights and Sunset Park. But Democrat Zhuang is expected to prevail because of the Republican-Conservative split.