{"id":872994,"date":"2026-06-17T07:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/872994\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T07:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:12:13","slug":"how-israel-came-to-dominate-a-congressional-primary-campaign-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/872994\/","title":{"rendered":"How Israel Came to Dominate a Congressional Primary Campaign in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a recent sunny Sunday on Manhattan\u2019s Upper East Side, Representative Dan Goldman was marching in the Israel Day parade<\/a> alongside other elected Democrats and a delegation of Israeli officials.<\/p>\n

At the same time, his primary challenger, Brad Lander, was canvassing voters in the East Village with volunteers from a group that has backed claims by human rights groups and a United Nations commission<\/a> that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n

That split-screen image underscored how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become an inescapable issue in the 10th District, one of the most progressive and most Jewish districts in America, at a time when New York\u2019s Jewish community has become increasingly divided along political and generational lines.<\/p>\n

Both candidates are Jewish and describe themselves as liberal Zionists. But Mr. Lander has marshaled shifting public attitudes to turn Mr. Goldman\u2019s defense of Israel \u2014 which aligns with the longtime status quo in American politics \u2014 into a potent line of attack. And he seems to have found an audience: Mr. Lander appears to hold a significant lead<\/a>, though polling on primary races in New York is scant.<\/p>\n

Gili Getz, an Israeli American filmmaker in the East Village, said the race was \u201cvery personal\u201d for many Jewish New Yorkers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just between Lander and Goldman \u2014 it\u2019s between us and ourselves,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that voters will have to decide in this district what type of politics we prefer going forward in these very scary and horrifying times for Jews, Muslims, Palestinians and all New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Different Visions<\/p>\n

Mr. Lander, the former city comptroller and mayoral candidate, said he was inspired to enter the race largely because of Mr. Goldman\u2019s support for Israel. Mr. Lander has argued that viewpoint represents the ways in which the incumbent is out of touch with the district, which includes neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Polls show a majority of Americans now hold a critical view of Israel; that includes 80 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, according to the Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that the landscape has moved dramatically away from sympathy for Israel as Israel has acted in utterly unsympathetic ways,\u201d Mr. Lander said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Lander, 56, has spent decades immersed in the world of progressive Jewish politics, including issues related to the Middle East. On the day of the parade, he was canvassing with volunteers from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a left-leaning group that has backed Mayor Zohran Mamdani. While serving in the City Council \u2014 representing neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, including Park Slope and Borough Park \u2014 he worked with both conservative-leaning ultra-Orthodox groups and left-wing Jewish activists. As comptroller, he chose not to repurchase State of Israel bonds that had matured.<\/p>\n

Mr. Lander has said Israel committed genocide during its military campaign in Gaza after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and has described its treatment of Palestinians as apartheid. He has urged the United States to halt aid to the country, pledged not to take money from pro-Israel lobbying groups and refused to participate in events like the Israel Day parade.<\/p>\n

His stance has drawn both support and criticism. In the East Village, Mr. Lander was stopped on the street several times by well-wishers and admirers. But he also occasionally encountered posters opposing his campaign, including one with a message that used his own self-description as an insult \u2014 \u201cBrad Lander is a proud Zionist!\u201d \u2014 which made him both chuckle and sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a complicated world, and you try to move through it with your values intact,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe in the vision of a Jewish and democratic Israel, but what\u2019s there now is not living up to Jewish or democratic values.\u201d<\/p>\n

His opponent, Mr. Goldman, a Levi Strauss heir, was elected to Congress in 2022 after working as a federal prosecutor and lead counsel on the 2019 impeachment inquiry into President Trump. He is estimated to be one of the wealthiest members of Congress and pledged<\/a> in April to match every donation to his campaign, underscoring the seriousness of Mr. Lander\u2019s challenge.<\/p>\n

Mr. Goldman, 50, said in an interview that he was raised to treasure Israel as a safe haven for the world\u2019s Jews. He backs a two-state solution and says he does not support the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he has voted for no new U.S. military aid to Israel since 2024. But he has opposed banning such aid, saying it gives the United States leverage in the bilateral relationship.<\/p>\n

Mr. Goldman also said he has seen no evidence that Israel has committed genocide. He objects to the use of the word \u201coccupation\u201d to describe its 59-year military presence in Palestinian territories, though he declined to say what term he would use.<\/p>\n

And he has made a point of attending events like the Israel Day parade. This year, he was one of many New York Democrats forced to distance themselves<\/a> from Israel\u2019s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotritch, who represented the Israeli government at the event.<\/p>\n

\u2018Not the Most Important Issue\u2019<\/p>\n

Mr. Goldman has sometimes struggled to contain his irritation when asked about Israel during the campaign. He has called the debate a distraction from the issues affecting voters, including affordability and President Trump\u2019s agenda, and has derided Mr. Lander as a cynical \u201ccareer politician.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am disappointed that my opponent is trying to use this issue as a campaign platform because, as he well knows, it\u2019s very complicated,\u201d Mr. Goldman said in the interview.<\/p>\n

He accused Mr. Lander of deploying ideologically charged language when speaking about the war in Gaza, arguing that focusing on the \u201cterminology\u201d of the conflict undermined the ultimate goal of ending it, and that words like genocide \u201care losing their meaning because they\u2019re being used as political footballs.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the news media had become overly focused on \u201copinions that are not based on any historical knowledge or understanding of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a televised debate in early June, the moderators and Mr. Lander repeatedly brought up Israel, and it dominated much of the evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael is not the most important issue in this district,\u201d Mr. Goldman said tersely on the debate stage. \u201cWhat is most important, that I hear from the voters, is Donald Trump in the White House tearing our immigrant neighbors away, destroying our democracy, corrupting everything from the White House and taking away health care, food benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his efforts to redirect the conversation, Mr. Goldman has also drawn fire from the left, including from Mr. Lander, over his friendliness toward the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a hard-line pro-Israel lobbying group.<\/p>\n

Mr. Goldman has accepted the endorsements of both AIPAC and J Street, a more liberal pro-Israel group, in the primary. His spokeswoman said he has not accepted donations from AIPAC during this electoral cycle, but that he does accept contributions from individuals who donate through the group\u2019s website. He has accepted its donations in past campaigns and even met his wife, Corinne Levy Goldman<\/a>, at an AIPAC event a decade before he held office.<\/p>\n

Supporters of Mr. Goldman echo his concerns about the way the war in Gaza has shaped the race. Andres Spokoiny, the chief executive of a Jewish philanthropy network, accused Mr. Lander of \u201cinjecting Israel into the race at every opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed to a recent moment of tension in the district \u2014 the Park Slope Food Co-op\u2019s vote to boycott Israeli goods<\/a>, a move that both candidates said they opposed \u2014 as an example of a larger trend that has made some Jews feel unsafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe context is a big part of the issue,\u201d said Mr. Spokoiny, who lives in Park Slope. \u201cThis is a context in which mainstream Zionist Jews in Brooklyn feel unwelcome, uncomfortable and pushed away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Which Side Are You On?\u2019<\/p>\n

The prospect of a Lander victory has alarmed some pro-Israel Jewish leaders who reject the way Mr. Lander talks about Israel and say they are unsettled by his relationship with Mr. Mamdani, whom he cross-endorsed in last year\u2019s Democratic mayoral primary and backed in the general election.<\/p>\n

Mr. Goldman declined to endorse Mr. Mamdani in either the primary or in the general election, citing concerns about his response to antisemitism. He has also criticized other elected officials who have spoken about Israel in ways similar to the mayor, and voted to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib<\/a> for her comments about Israel.<\/p>\n

Mr. Mamdani won in much of the 10th District and endorsed Mr. Lander<\/a> for the seat one month later, giving a lift to Mr. Lander\u2019s candidacy.<\/p>\n

Mr. Lander\u2019s critics have also expressed dismay at his association with two other progressive primary challengers whom Mr. Mamdani has endorsed: Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, who are both democratic socialists and strong critics of Israel. All three candidates appeared with the mayor in a recent ad<\/a> promoting their campaigns.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, the president of the New York Board of Rabbis and senior rabbi at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a Reform temple on Manhattan\u2019s Upper West Side, said it was \u201cquite astonishing\u201d that New York City\u2019s congressional delegation could soon include Mr. Lander, Ms. Avila Chevalier and Ms. Valdez.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Hirsch said he found Mr. Lander\u2019s campaign to be \u201cdisturbing,\u201d taking issue in particular with his use of the word \u201cgenocide\u201d to describe Israel\u2019s actions, which he said generates hatred toward Jews. He called that accusation \u201ca modern-day blood libel\u201d and an example of a new litmus test that pushes Democrats to embrace positions that alarm many pro-Israel Jews.<\/p>\n

But supporters of Mr. Lander view his stance on Israel as a sign of his moral clarity.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, the rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Chelsea, said that \u201carguing over specific words, I think, is not the point.\u201d She said people should focus on the human suffering at a time of war and \u201cthe values that are violated by certain behaviors\u201d of the Israeli government.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Kleinbaum said she has known and liked both candidates for years but backs Mr. Lander because he is \u201ca real mensch\u201d who had taken \u201cvery serious and complicated positions\u201d on difficult issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in a tough position,\u201d she said. \u201cThe world wants things to be like a simplistic game between sports teams, and one side is going to win and one side is going to lose, and which side are you on?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a recent sunny Sunday on Manhattan\u2019s Upper East Side, Representative Dan Goldman was marching in the Israel…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":872995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,251926,5713,98076,338505,5959,255666,330128,4351,99,202213,5712,5708,151364,239993,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,277,67,586,16852,132,5230,68,2969,57312,5709],"class_list":["post-872994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-american-israel-public-affairs-committee","tag-brad","tag-brooklyn-nyc","tag-daniel-s","tag-donald-j","tag-east-village-manhattan","tag-goldman","tag-house-of-representatives","tag-israel","tag-jews-and-judaism","tag-lander","tag-mamdani","tag-manhattan-nyc","tag-midterm-elections-2026","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-trump","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-united-states-politics-and-government","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-zionism","tag-zohran"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}