Goldman has been harshly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government and the war in Gaza, but is more in line with the Democratic Party center and the mainstream Jewish community.<\/p>\n
\t In his victory speech, Lander again accused Israel of genocide and said the US was \u201cpaying for Netanyahu\u2019s wars with our tax dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will be one of the Jewish members of Congress most willing to stand up for Palestinian human rights, and I will stand firmly against bigotry aimed at Jews,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lander was a member of the New York City Council and became the city comptroller, the second-highest elected position in city government, in 2022.<\/p>\n He stepped down as comptroller to make a run for mayor in 2024 and allied with Mamdani during the mayoral campaign, contributing to Mamdani\u2019s upset victory.<\/p>\n Lander has maintained his alliance with Mamdani since and the mayor backed his run for Congress.<\/p>\n \t Lander has long been affiliated with leftist Jewish groups in the city, such as Jews for Economic and Racial Justice, which celebrated his primary victory on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cThis race was about more than a single seat in Congress. It was a fight for both the future of the Democratic Party, and the future of the Jewish community,\u201d JFREJ said in a statement.<\/p>\n Lander identifies as a \u201cliberal Zionist,\u201d and his pairing with the anti-Zionist Mamdani was sometimes awkward.<\/p>\n Those tensions cropped up during voting on Tuesday when Lander refused to defend, or condemn<\/a>, Mamdani\u2019s comments this week likening the pro-Israel lobby to \u201cmonsters,\u201d an attack widely seen as antisemitic, even from some of Mamdani\u2019s Jewish allies.<\/p>\n Also Tuesday, Mamdani\u2019s wife, Rama Duwaji, urged her millions of followers to vote for Mamdani\u2019s two other Congressional picks, notably leaving Lander off of her endorsement.<\/p>\n Lander\u2019s win bolsters the far left, anti-Israel political movement in the city, home to the world\u2019s largest Diaspora population, along with other leftist victories on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n In New York\u2019s 7th Congressional District, Mamdani pick Claire Valdez won her primary.<\/p>\n Valdez is a member of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani\u2019s home base, while Lander is not.<\/p>\n And in the 12th Congressional District, covering the Upper East Side, Upper West Side and Midtown Manhattan, Jewish centrist Micah Lasher won the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n \t The Associated Press declared Lasher the winner. With 87% of votes counted, Lasher had 39%, while his leading opponent, fellow centrist Alex Bores, had 35%.<\/p>\n Bores conceded to Lasher in a statement. \u201cThis is not the outcome we hoped for, but I want to congratulate Micah Lasher, who will represent this district well in Congress,\u201d Bores said.<\/p>\n Pro-Israel US Congress members Ritchie Torres and Grace Meng were also declared the winners of their primaries in New York City.<\/p>\n Torres, the incumbent in New York\u2019s 15th Congressional District in the Bronx, trounced his leftist opponent, Michael Blake.<\/p>\n With 88% of the vote counted, Torres had 72%, compared to Blake\u2019s 22%.<\/p>\n \t Meng, the incumbent in New York\u2019s 6th Congressional District in Queens, led Chuck Park 57% to 43%, with 84% of votes counted.<\/p>\n Outside New York City, the pro-Israel House representatives George Latimer, in Westchester County, and Tom Suozzi, on Long Island, wontheir primaries.<\/p>\n Latimer won an uncontested vote while Suozzi had 80% with nearly all votes counted.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tUS Rep. Dan Goldman at a rally for Israeli hostages in Gaza in Central Park, New York City, June 8, 2025. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP25176173438247-1-e1750832315957.jpg\")
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\n\t\tDemocratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, left, speaks on stage with fellow candidate Comptroller Brad Lander at his primary election party, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo\/Heather Khalifa)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-1-2-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tNew York State Assemblymember Micah Lasher at a Congressional candidate forum, in New York City, June 8, 2026. (Screenshot\/YouTube)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AFP__20230718__1538732040__v3__HighRes__HouseLawmakersReturnToCapitolHillAfterTheWee-e1717811926457-.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tDemocratic Representative Ritchie Torres of New York speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 17, 2023. (Drew Angerer\/Getty Images\/AFP)<\/p>\n
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