Israel again took center stage on Monday night in a debate between former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) — with the incumbent congressman trying to prove his progressive bona fides by criticizing AIPAC, despite the group’s support for his campaigns.

Both candidates, each a self-identified “progressive Zionist,” inveighed in the televised face-off on PIX11 against Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, although Goldman declined to join Lander in calling the military actions a “genocide.” But the embattled Goldman, trailing in all available polls, also criticized AIPAC, despite acknowledging he has received the group’s endorsement.

“Brad and I agree on a lot of this: I do not think that AIPAC should unconditionally support the Israeli government, and I’ve made that very clear to them,” he said in answer to questions about the group. “I do think that AIPAC has some real problems and is harmful in many ways.”

Goldman said repeatedly that he has also received the backing of J Street, a left-leaning Zionist group often critical of Israel, and asserted that this proved he approached the issue “independently.”

Meanwhile, Lander — who has shifted left on Israel since receiving the endorsement of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — continued to face questions about his decision to appear in an ad with another of the democratic socialist mayor’s favored candidates: former Columbia encampment organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, a socialist challenger to Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY). Avila Chevalier has come under fire for attending an anti-Israel rally one day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, an event denounced by both Lander and Mamdani, and for spreading Kremlin talking points and COVID-19 disinformation online. 

Lander continued to insist that the ad, which characterized Mamdani and his slate of candidates as a “team,” did not constitute an endorsement. Goldman, for his part, called Espaillat a “mentor” and voiced support for his reelection. 

AIPAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Early voting in New York’s primaries began last week; the primary date is June 23.