Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat who was unseated in a bitter primary on Tuesday, warned in his concession speech that antisemitism “will ultimately be the undoing of our democracy if we all don’t lean in and speak out.”

“Jews have given back so much to this country,” the two-term lawmaker said. “As history has taught us, antisemitic tropes and stereotypes, some of which I heard personally on this campaign, will ultimately be the undoing of our democracy if we all don’t lean in and speak out — even if it’s not politically expedient.”

Goldman, who was resoundingly defeated by Brad Lander, the former city comptroller backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, faced blowback during the campaign over his support for Israel and ties to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC — some of which invoked hostile antisemitic rhetoric.

In the final days of the primary, a Brooklyn coffee shop Goldman patronized wrote in an incendiary online post it was banning him over his pro-Israel views, calling him a “genocide enabler” and saying his purchase “probably” came from AIPAC — which endorsed him but did not engage directly in the race.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said Monday it had opened an investigation into the cafe for discrimination, though Goldman clarified he did not believe the incident warranted legal scrutiny.

“Every day I tried to approach this job with integrity, with seriousness and courage to stand up for what is right, even when it was not politically expedient,” the ousted congressman said in his concession speech, in an apparent reference to his defense of Israel over the course of the primary.

Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who rose to national prominence as the lead counsel during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, shared a range of progressive policy views with Lander, a fellow Jewish Democrat who identifies as a progressive Zionist. 

Despite their agreements on several key issues, the race ultimately became a referendum on support for Israel in the Democratic Party and Goldman’s refusal to disavow his Zionist ideals. He lost by more than 30 points, with 90% of the vote tallied as of Wednesday.

Lander, who accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and called for ending U.S. aid to the Jewish state, largely aligned his campaign with the anti-Zionist far left as he touted his endorsement from Mamdani, a key ally who also played a decisive role in helping elevate two democratic socialists with records of vocal anti-Israel activism to the nomination on Tuesday.

In his victory speech, Lander, who won a decisive 66% of the vote in New York’s 10th Congressional District, praised Goldman “for how he responded to some of the toxic rhetoric that he and his staff faced over the past couple days,” saying his opponent had acted “with grace and with gratitude.”

“That is something we need more of in our politics,” Lander added. 

Even as he raised alarms about antisemitism on the left, Goldman called on his supporters to “remember the enemy to all that we want and all that we hope for is in the White House, not in our own party.”

The Democratic Party, Goldman said, “has always been at its strongest when it has welcomed a broad coalition of voices united by those shared democratic values of equal rights, social justice, human rights.”

“We have never required unanimity of opinion to stand together against the forces that truly threaten our democracy,” he argued in his concession speech. “And we should not demonize, or push away, anyone who shares our mutual goals.”

A spokesperson for Goldman did not respond to a request for an interview on Wednesday.

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has bear-hugged Mayor Zohran Mamdani as he seeks to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) — but got a primary day cold shoulder from New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji.

The left-wing illustrator posted an Instagram story Tuesday flashing an “I Voted” sticker and encouraging her followers to support the two congressional candidates endorsed by both her husband and the Democratic Socialists of America: Assemblymember Claire Valdez and doctoral student Darializa Avila Chevalier. 

Valdez is battling Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for the seat of retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) while Avila Chevalier hopes to oust Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY).

“today’s the day NYC!!!” she wrote in a story on her personal account. “vote @claireforny @darializaforny”

The post excluded Lander, who alone among Mamdani’s candidates identifies as a Zionist — albeit as one who has accused the Jewish state of genocide in its military campaign in the Gaza Strip and even Lebanon — and who renounced his DSA membership after the group promoted an anti-Israel rally one day after Hamas’ 2023 attacks. Mamdani, then an unwed state lawmaker, denounced the event at the time. 

Duwaji had liked Instagram content from the Oct. 8 gathering and the assault itself, as reported in Jewish Insider; The mayor has dismissed criticism of Duwaji’s social media activity by asserting his wife was a “private person,” although she has featured prominently at public events and granted interviews to magazines.

Lander, for his part, has attracted some fire from online leftists in recent days for declining to endorse Avila Chevalier and appearing in a video from the progressive Working Families Party with Reynoso — despite his also appearing in an ad aired during the NBA finals with the mayor and his other endorsed candidates.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is investigating a Brooklyn cafe after it banned Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) from its store, posting discriminatory messages online that accused the congressman of enabling genocide and tying him to AIPAC. 

“Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin. These actions are not only reprehensible, they’re potentially illegal. The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation, and will bring an enforcement action if warranted,” Harmeet Dhillon, the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said. 

“We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice?” Poetica Coffee in Williamsburg wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post with an image of Goldman standing at the register. “We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers. Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away.”

“We don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways),” the post continued. “Don’t ever come to Poetica.” The shop said it refunded Goldman for his $9.82 purchase.

The coffee shop is owned by Parviz Mukhamadkulov, who has frequently used social media to share posts condemning Israel. Poetica Coffee’s website claims it serves “whoever walks through the door is treated with unconditional dignity.”

Goldman is facing a primary challenge from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander in Tuesday’s election. Both candidates are Jewish and self-identified “progressive Zionists,” although in a debate earlier this month Goldman declined to join Lander in calling the Israeli military actions a “genocide.”

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.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), the chair of the House antisemitism task force, argued in an interview with Jewish Insider on Wednesday that the Jewish community needs non-Jewish allies to help fight antisemitism, following a press conference introducing the Jewish American Security Act (JASA), a bipartisan and bicameral package aimed at tackling attacks on Jewish institutions, campus antisemitism and online antisemitism.

“It’s really important that we gain and bolster allies from outside the Jewish community, because ultimately antisemitism is hate, and hate is easily transferable, and history has taught us that,” Goldman said. “The way we are going to combat antisemitism is not just through Jewish advocacy but through a broad coalition of people who support the democratic value of equal rights and social justice, and so we’re excited that this bill can be a vehicle towards bringing people of all backgrounds together to fight.”

Though some in the Jewish community feel that they’ve been abandoned by longtime allies since the Oct. 7 attacks, Goldman argued that it’s important to continue to reach out to and cultivate allies, in part because “Jewish community is too small to do it ourselves, and we need allies.”

Asked whether there are groups outside the Jewish community supporting JASA, Goldman said, “Broadly speaking, I’ve had really meaningful conversations with a lot of leaders in other communities, and I think that there is a recognition that it is incredibly important to have a united front against hate.”

In spite of Congress’ now yearslong struggle to pass legislation to address the significant rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023, Goldman said he’s confident that Congress will pass JASA before the end of the year.

The New York congressman said that “part of the reason you see such widespread bipartisan support, and you see so many of the Jewish organizations supporting it, is because we worked very intentionally to streamline it into things that can get bipartisan agreement, so that we can actually get it passed.”

“I’m very optimistic that we are going to pass it this year, because of that broad bipartisan support and because there are no poison pills,” Goldman continued.

He said that the bill’s sponsors have spoken to leadership on both sides of the aisle about the bill, and have received support for it.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), the lead Republican cosponsor of the bill in the House, said at the press conference that, as a representative of one of the largest Jewish communities in the country, “this issue matters.”

“I am grateful for the local law enforcement agencies in my district that coordinate very closely with our synagogues and with our yeshivas to protect our Jewish students, but it is not enough. We need additional resources to ensure everyone’s safety in New York. We’ve seen firsthand why this program matters,” the lower Hudson Valley Republican said, referring to Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding. “As a practicing Catholic who goes to church, fact is, I can walk into my church without fear. I can walk into my church without passing a security guard stationed outside. Jewish Americans don’t have that luxury, and it’s outrageous, and it should anger each and every one of us.”

He said the bill would also improve protections for Jewish students “by ensuring colleges and universities have clear accountability and enforcement mechanisms” and “increas[ing] transparency and accountability for online platforms as antisemitic content continues to spread across the internet.”

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a cosponsor of the bill, said at the press conference, “This bill shouldn’t be necessary. It shouldn’t be necessary. We shouldn’t have to do this. We’re not doing this because it’s optional. We’re doing it because it is necessary.”

“If people stop trying to hurt Jewish kids in preschools, we won’t have to build walls around them. If people stop trying to blow up synagogues, then we wouldn’t have to have armed guards at every entrance, but we’re seeing all over the country now people going to synagogues to stage foreign policy protests,” Moskowitz said. “We see people in the street, Jews in the street, wearing a Jewish star, having to put that Jewish star away, and if they don’t, they’re accosted.”

He said he saw firsthand the impact and necessity of NSGP funding when he served as Florida’s director of emergency management, where he was responsible for administering those grants at the state level.

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY), another supporter of the bill, told JI that antisemitism is an issue she’s been focused on since she was on the campaign trail, and said that the bill tackles many issues she pledged to address as a candidate.

“It talks about putting pressure on social media platforms to moderate hate speech, because we know that that is the hotbed of what is stirring up these hateful feelings — where people hide behind their computers, they say vicious vile things, and they create a lot of false information out there in the universe,” Gillen said.

She added that the security funding increase proposed in the bill, which puts NSGP funding at $1 billion, is also critical. “We saw they got a little bit more of a bump in [the] homeland security [appropriations bill], but we need a [much] bigger bump. There is a tremendous need across my district, and it’s not even just synagogues or yeshivas, it’s also other places of worship.”

Also speaking at the press conference were Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center; Eric Fingerhut, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America; Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Jessica Bernton, director of congressional affairs at the American Jewish Committee; Lauren Wolman, senior director of government relations and strategy at the Anti-Defamation League; and Elizabeth Cullen, director of government relations at Hadassah.

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, now running to oust Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), denied he’s backing Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated Darializa Avila Chevalier in her race against Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) — even though the two appeared together in an ad paid for jointly by both of their campaigns.

Avila Chevalier has come under fire for promoting Russian propaganda lines and COVID-19 disinformation online, as well as for participating in an anti-Israel rally the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, a demonstration that Lander himself denounced as “vile” and “heinous.” But pressed about his choice to pay for and appear in an ad with Avila Chevalier that aired during the NBA finals, Lander only talked about the man in the middle of the TV spot: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has endorsed both candidates.

“I’m honored to have the support of Mayor Mamdani and to be part of his team in this congressional election,” Lander said. “He and his team suggested a Knicks colors-themed ad to show what a team looks like, and how you show up for the city you love.”

Lander maintained that just because he and Avila Chevalier are on the same “team,” that doesn’t mean he’s on her roster of endorsers.

“I’m not supporting any other congressional candidates in New York City, I am focused on my election,” he said, adding when pressed. “Different members of a team play different roles.”

Lander is unique among the three candidates Mamdani has backed for Congress in that he is not a member of the DSA nor has he sought the group’s endorsement. While running for mayor in 2025, he said he had left the DSA after 30 years of membership over their promotion of the post-Oct. 7 rally attended by Avila Chevalier, who is both a member and endorsee of the leftist group.

Good Tuesday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover last night’s debate between Rep. Dan Goldman and Brad Lander, as the two sparred over Israel, and report on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s backing of a congressional candidate with a history of posting extremist sentiments online, including promoting a post questioning Israel’s existence. We explore the challenges posed to Israel’s security by Hezbollah’s new drones, and look at how Rep. Ro Khanna’s leftward shift on Israel has divided Jewish residents of his Silicon Valley district. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Gov. Janet Mills, Marc Rowan and Barry Diller.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

• It’s primary day in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota. We’ll be closely following the results as polls close this evening, with an eye toward the results of the Los Angeles mayoral and controller elections, as well as the NJ-12 Democratic primary, where Adam Hamawy, who is under scrutiny for his past ties to Islamist extremists, is the front-runner in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
• The American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum concludes today. Speakers at the closing plenary include the Justice Department’s Harmeet Dhillon, Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA), and Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio is slated to testify this morning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the State Department’s budget. This afternoon, Rubio will appear before the House Appropriations Committee for a separate hearing on the department’s budget. Following Rubio, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will appear before the House committee for a hearing on the Justice Department’s upcoming budget.
• Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is set to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee this afternoon on his department’s budget for the upcoming year.
• The Senate Intelligence Committee is holding a closed-door intel briefing today.
• Roman Gofman begins his tenure today as head of the Mossad, after Israel’s High Court rejected two petitions challenging his appointment. He was sworn in earlier today at a command-change ceremony at the Mossad headquarters that was attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
• The Israel Democracy Institute’s Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society kicked off earlier today in Jerusalem. Speakers include former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, as well as MKs Avigdor Liberman, Benny Gantz and Mansour Abbas. Read more here.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL

As the 2028 presidential campaign season nears, a handful of prospective candidates from the Democratic Party’s left flank are raising their profiles with efforts to shape a more critical approach to U.S. policy toward Israel.

Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), as well as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), all of whom are seen as potential presidential prospects, have been among the party’s most prominent critics of Israel on Capitol Hill amid a marked decline in Democratic support for the Jewish state. 

Recent moves suggest they are each testing voter appetite for a possible White House campaign. Even as they are not considered top-tier contenders in what is likely to be a crowded primary field, history has shown they could be positioning themselves for a Cabinet role — particularly if they prove successful in driving the national conversation on the debate stage and other forums.

Murphy, for instance, released a book last month, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America, of the sort that typically presages a bid for higher office. The senator has otherwise continued to promote what he terms a “forward-looking foreign policy,” which has included an increasingly antagonistic assessment of Israel and its relationship with the United States.

Van Hollen, meanwhile, published a deeply disputed op-ed in The New York Times last week that argued for wholly jettisoning the Democratic Party’s “unconditional support to Israeli governments” that, he warned, has “increasingly undermined American interests and values.”

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

candidate concerns

Mamdani-backed House candidate has inflammatory past and extremist reading list

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s favored candidate to topple Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) has a history of extremist sentiments — with commentary assailing Israel, interracial relationships, “white liberals” and the U.S. flag and military, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.

Problematic posts: Inflammatory posts by Darializa Avila Chevalier, which have received coverage in the New York Post, Politico and AM New York, include: lambasting Black and Arab men for “fetishizing ugly colonizer women,” boasting of wiping her hand on the American flag, attacking former President Joe Biden as a “rapist,” declaring “f*** [Vice President] Kamala Harris,” demanding “No more police at all ever,” asserting Mayor Bill de Blasio “hates Black people” and is “a piece of shit” and calling American military veterans “child murderers” guilty of “war crimes.” She also shared a post stating that “Israel doesn’t exist.”

Read the full story here.

Bonus: American Priorities PAC plans to spend $2 million to boost three left-wing candidates backed by Mamdani. In addition to Avila Chevalier, the super PAC plans to run ads backing congressional candidates Brad Lander and Claire Valdez.

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DEBATE WATCH

Lander and Goldman spar over Israel in televised showdown

Israel was on the menu — in more ways than one — in former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s televised clash with Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) Monday night as Lander seeks to oust the incumbent congressman in this month’s Democratic primary. The Jewish state was the centerpiece over which the two congressional contenders clashed for much of the hour-long debate on Spectrum News NY1, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports. 

Fiery feud: Lander criticized Goldman’s support for former President Joe Biden’s policy toward the conflict in Gaza, touted his own pledge to deny further military aid to Israel and voiced sympathy for the successful push to ban Israeli products from the Park Slope Food Coop, though the self-described progressive Zionist maintained he still opposed the effort. So intensely did the two chew over the issue that Goldman at one point burst out, “Israel is not the most important issue in this district!” But when asked for the best place in the Brooklyn-Manhattan district to break bread, Lander returned to the Holy Land once more: or rather, to its cuisine. “I love Masalawala on Fifth Avenue, I love Miriam — I’ll go with those two,” the candidate answered.

Read the full story here.

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HARD RO TO HOE

Khanna’s hostile turn toward Israel divides Silicon Valley Jews

Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) emergence as a leading Democratic Party critic of Israel — while affiliating with and embracing individuals and groups that have been accused of antisemitism and support for terrorism — is creating divisions within the local Jewish community in his Silicon Valley-area district, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

State of play: While Khanna maintains unified support from Jewish elected officials in the district, other Jewish community leaders say they feel abandoned, ignored and even attacked by their congressman, who they once saw as an ally, as he faces what could be his most credible primary challenge in years.

Read the full story here.

On the air: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro defended Israel’s standing as a Jewish state, telling CNN in an interview aired on Monday that the country faces a level of scrutiny and attack over its religious character not applied to the dozens of Muslim states throughout the region, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

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GROWING THREAT

Cheap, deadly and hard to spot: Hezbollah’s drones create urgent security threat for Israel

One of Israel’s most urgent emerging security threats is not a sophisticated missile or advanced weapons system, but a small, cheap drone that can be bought online and easily assembled. Hezbollah’s use of first-person view drones (FPVs) — a battlefield tactic widely utilized in the Russia-Ukraine war and now adopted by the Iran-backed terror group — has caused Israeli casualties, threatens civilians and exposed vulnerabilities in Israel’s air-defense systems, including the Iron Dome. The drones are small and inexpensive, but difficult to detect, experts tell Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea.

Rethinking strategy: The growing threat has caught the IDF off guard and is forcing Israeli officials to rethink how they protect soldiers, border communities and critical defense infrastructure during the fragile partial ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. “These are very simple, unsophisticated drones,” Yaakov Katz, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, told JI. “Imagine a person can watch with goggles almost and be the eyes of the drone, see what the drone sees and literally fly it to wherever it wants its target to be.”

Read the full story here.

Beirut breakthrough: President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Israel would not carry out strikes against Hezbollah in Beirut in exchange for the terror group halting its persistent attacks on northern Israel and IDF soldiers, cutting off imminent Israeli plans to expand its operations against Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.

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IN OPPOSITION

JINSA CEO Michael Makovsky: ‘U.S. has lost the plot on Iran’

Michael Makovsky, the president and CEO of the hawkish Jewish Institute for National Security of America, criticized the Trump administration’s recent handling of the U.S. war in Iran, expressing concern about the possibility of a broader peace deal that does not address key issues. “The U.S. has lost the plot on Iran,” Makovsky told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs on Friday. 

A different tack: “After significant military achievements, declaring the ceasefire was a huge mistake, and there was too much hype about what pressure a blockade alone would achieve,” Makovsky said. “The net result has reduced U.S. leverage, and the perception that America is vulnerable if gasoline nears $5 per gallon.” Makovsky said that the U.S. “should not pursue a deal” with Iran, arguing that such an agreement “wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s written on.” He said that a deal “will only enrich and strengthen the regime and demoralize the Iranian people.”

Read the full interview here.

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ON THE HILL

Far left, far right rebel over defense bill provision on U.S.-Israel cooperation

A relatively routine provision that aims to facilitate expanded U.S. cooperation with Israel in the House’s draft of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act has fueled outrage from the far left and far right, with some prominent figures making inaccurate claims that the provision would subjugate the U.S. military to Israel or otherwise compromise U.S. sovereignty, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

The situation: Critics are objecting to a provision in the bill, the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” which aims to expand and accelerate joint U.S.-Israel technological development and industrial cooperation; allow the U.S. to quickly adopt proven Israeli technologies; and promote joint training exercises, information sharing and co-production in areas including defense manufacturing, anti-tunneling, air- and missile-defense and various advanced technologies. Many such programs are already in place, and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, called the provision “quite unremarkable.”

Read the full story here.

Aid to trade: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on X that the next U.S. memorandum of understanding with Israel will end U.S. aid to Israel in favor of prioritizing trade. 

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Worthy Reads

Tech-tonic Shift: In The Atlantic, Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin explore how Iran’s crackdowns on tech startups dealt a death blow to the industry as it was on the rise. “The story of Iran’s start-ups could have been a triumphant one for Iran’s private sector, and for a young generation seeking opportunity and connection with the outside world. Instead, this is a story of thievery. … Iran’s tech entrepreneurs had built their businesses on a paradox. They were inspired by the Silicon Valley mythos of fierce competition, user-first design, and disruption. But Silicon Valley had arisen in a time and place where access to infrastructure, especially the internet, was relatively free and open. Iran’s economy was built on closed networks.” [TheAtlantic]

Not Easy Being Green: The Financial Times’ Anna Gross and Rachel Rees do a deep dive into the political evolution of U.K. Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has come under fire amid numerous reports that he exaggerated or misrepresented elements of his background. “Within months of being overlooked [as a Liberal Democrat candidate], Polanski had joined the Green Party. He now describes himself as an ‘eco-populist,’ and has become the most popular figure on the left, fighting to reduce inequality, lower living costs and oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza. But Polanski has faced allegations that he misled the public about his career, his legal address and whether he voted in local elections.” [FT]

Survivor’s Story: In eJewishPhilanthropy, British-born Nova music festival survivor Maayan Dee describes her experience marching in Sunday’s Israel Day on Fifth parade in Manhattan. “Trauma isolates. It makes you feel that no one can understand, that the world keeps spinning while you’re frozen in the same field, on the same ground, that same Saturday morning. And after Oct. 7, alongside the personal pain, came something else: the feeling that the world doesn’t see us, that our story is being erased. But then something like this happens. You plant your feet on a street in Manhattan and you see a sea of blue and white. Jews and non-Jews who had no obligation to be there, and yet they were.” [eJP]

Word on the Street

President Donald Trump reportedly went on an expletive-laden tirade against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Monday over the Israeli leader’s plans, since scrapped, to escalate military activities in Lebanon; a U.S. official speaking to Axios summed up Trump’s comments to Netanyahu as, “You’re f**king crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this”…

Israeli journalist Amit Segal said earlier today that the Axios report was “inaccurate,” noting that “Trump did not make personal remarks about jail or claim Netanyahu is hated globally” but indicated that “defending Israel’s global position is difficult and breeds hatred”…

A federal prosecutor told a judge in New York that the government may charge additional people in a wide-ranging terror probe following the arrest of the head of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia…

The Wall Street Journal looks at the White House’s efforts to pressure Oman, which has largely stayed neutral in the conflict with Iran, to side with the U.S. and cut its relations with Tehran…

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) blamed low turnout for his loss to Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state’s GOP Senate primary last week, and said that Trump’s endorsement of Paxton “wasn’t as [impactful] as he thought.” Cornyn said he “absolutely” believes that Paxton’s nomination endangers the seat, and that he stands by his comments during the campaign…

Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks celebrated his group’s role in ousting Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in his primary election earlier this month at the organization’s  “America 250”-themed gala Sunday night, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

The New York Times does a deep dive into the congressional race pitting far-left activist Claire Valdez against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who was endorsed by outgoing Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), as the race splits members of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s coalition…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills said in an interview with a local news outlet that she remains on the ballot in the state’s Democratic Senate primary, amid a new report that Graham Platner, who had been leading Mills in primary polling prior to her suspension of her campaign, had inappropriately communicated with at least half a dozen women while married to his wife… 

Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan met on Monday in Qatar with Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al-Thani, the Gulf state’s minister of commerce…

Barry Diller’s People Inc. is preparing an $18 billion bid to take over MGM Resorts…

In a speech addressing antisemitism in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the country’s “civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians; the Canadian premier also announced the establishment of a new Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion…

The Associated Press spotlights efforts by residents of Bedzin, Poland, and historians in the country to preserve World War II-era artifacts, including a building in what was the city’s Jewish ghetto that had secret bunkers and acted as a hub for Jewish resistance fighters…

El Al will resume its flights between Israel and San Francisco, more than six years after the route was paused amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; the airline will run three weekly nonstop flights — under the flight number LY49, in tribute to the San Francisco 49ers — between Ben Gurion Airport and SFO…

Israel’s Defense Ministry said that France has barred official Israeli participation in the upcoming Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris taking place later this month…

Thousands of Haredi demonstrators protesting Israel’s proposed draft laws crippled transportation in parts of the country on Monday, blocking highways and train tracks between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem…

The Associated Press reports on rising levels of child marriage in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas war…

A Russian cargo ship arrived in Syria last month to resupply Moscow’s air base in the country, the first time it has done so since the fall of the Assad regime, signaling Russian officials’ intention to maintain the installation under the government of Ahmad al-Sharaa…

Pic of the Day

A memorial ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Monday marking the one-year anniversary of the murders of Israeli Embassy staffers Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky was filled with many tears, some anger and even a few laughs, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Milgrim’s father, Robert, told an assembled crowd of dignitaries, Jewish leaders and D.C. staffers that he was saddened not only by the death of his daughter but by the ways in which her death exemplifies the challenges facing every Jewish community.

Birthdays

Aerospace engineer and a former NASA astronaut, he flew on three shuttle missions and took a memento from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum into space, Mark L. Polansky (right) turns 70…

Former member of the British Parliament from Manchester and then a member of European Parliament, David Anthony Gerald Sumberg turns 85… Co-founder of ReelAbilities, a film festival by, or about, people with disabilities, Anita Altman turns 81… Israeli entrepreneur and inventor, founder of Indigo Digital Press and known as the father of commercial digital printing, Benny Landa turns 80… Johns Hopkins University professor and a pioneer in the field of cancer genomics, Dr. Bert Vogelstein turns 77… Writer-at-large for New York magazine since 2011, following a 31-year career at The New York Times, Frank Rich turns 77… SVP of institutional advancement at Brandeis University, Jordan E. Tannenbaum… Commissioner of the National Hockey League since 1993, Gary Bettman turns 74… Holiday and weekend cantor at Los Angeles Jewish Health (formerly Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging), Ben Zion Kogen… Former board chair of Sapir Academic College in the western Negev, he was one of Israel’s senior peace negotiators at the Camp David summit in 2000, Gilead Sher turns 73… Founder of Newark, N.J.-based IDT Corp and numerous affiliates and spinoffs, Howard S. Jonas turns 70… Dinorah Cecilia Baroody… General manager of The Piedmont Club, a Spartanburg, S.C., private social club, Davina Weinstein… Radio and television talk show host, Andrew Joseph “Andy” Cohen turns 58… President of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer for Marvel Comics, Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, Kevin Feige turns 53… Special counsel focused on land use and zoning at NYC-based law firm Goldstein Hall, Jessica Ashenberg Loeser… SVP of EnTrust Global, Jordan David Kaplan… Director of technology at Santa Monica, Calif.-based Action Network, a tech platform for progressive causes, Jason S. Rosenbaum… Woman Grandmaster chess player, she won the 2004 Israel Women’s Chess Championship, Bella Igla Gesser turns 41… Equestrian show jumper, she represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Danielle “Dani” Goldstein Waldman turns 41… Co-founder and former CEO of The Wing, now the owner of The Six Bells (“a new old country store”) in Brooklyn, Audrey H. Gelman turns 39… Founder and CEO at Button AI, a company for AI paralegals that settle estates, Jared R. Fleitman… CEO and co-founder at Platform Cannabis Advisors, Benjamin G. Sheridan… Theater, television and film actor best known for his lead role in “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical,” Ethan Samuel Slater turns 34… Israeli K-pop singer, whose first two songs when she was 17 both topped Israeli airplay charts, Ella-Lee Lahav turns 23… 

Israel was on the menu — in more ways than one — in former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s televised clash with Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) Monday night as Lander seeks to oust the incumbent congressman in this month’s Democratic primary.

The Jewish state was the centerpiece over which the two congressional contenders clashed for much of the hour-long debate on Spectrum News NY1, as Lander ripped Goldman’s support for former President Joe Biden’s policy toward the conflict in Gaza, touted his own pledge to deny further military aid to Israel and voiced sympathy for the successful push to ban Israeli products from the Park Slope Food Coop, though the self-described progressive Zionist maintained he still opposed the effort. So intensely did the two chew over the issue that Goldman at one point burst out, “Israel is not the most important issue in this district!”

But when asked for the best place in the Brooklyn-Manhattan district to break bread, Lander returned to the Holy Land once more: or rather, to its cuisine.

“I love Masalawala on Fifth Avenue, I love Miriam — I’ll go with those two,” the candidate answered.

The first is a popular Bengali spot in Park Slope, but Miriam is an Israeli restaurant a short walk away that has become a target of anti-Israel protesters’ rage. In early 2025, vandals struck the eatery with a splattering of red paint and and the words “Genocide Cuisine” and Israel Steals Culture.” 

At the time, Lander was among the local officials who decried the attack, offering support to the Petah Tikva-born owner, and declaring the incident “a clear example of when anti-Zionism becomes antisemitism.” At the time, Lander was a contender for Gracie Mansion and had not yet embraced the politics of now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Lander had to defend his political evolution onstage, when Goldman pivoted back to the subject of Israel himself later in the evening and pressed the former comptroller on his announcement as a mayoral candidate that he had left the Democratic Socialists of America after 30 years as a member following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Lander stood by his decision to exit the group after it held an anti-Israel demonstration one day after the bloody assault.

“On October 8 they advertised a rally that I thought was heinous, that spoke about Hamas in ways that I just thought were vile, and I could not continue to be a member,” he said, even as he defended his cross-endorsement late in the race with Mamdani, the DSA’s standard-bearer. “The choice was between him and Andrew Cuomo.”

Mamdani has since returned the favor and backed Lander’s bid to oust Goldman.

Among the district’s leading Jewish constituents is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who both men declined to endorse for another term in 2028: Lander declared it “time for new leadership in the Democratic Party,” while Goldman questioned whether the lawmaker would run again.

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander — favored to defeat Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in next month’s Democratic primary — broadened his already sweeping criticism of Israel in a speech to a Queens mosque earlier this month, suggesting the country’s actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon could constitute genocide.

As shown in a video of May 15 services posted to the Al-Khoei Islamic Center’s YouTube page, Lander told worshippers that he is “a very proud Jewish New Yorker,” quoted a Quranic verse on unity and recalled his cross-endorsement in the 2025 election with now-New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

He drew a parallel with the Jewish concept of B’tzelem Elohim, or the creation of humanity in the divine image — and pivoted then to a topic that has animated his campaign: what he called “Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” which Lander described as “a Jewish requirement” to denounce.

He also repeated a pledge to vote against further military aid to Israel in Congress, but went even farther in his criticism of the country than he has in the past.

“I will not vote for any more U.S. military aid to Israel, not the bombs that are destroying the hospitals and schools in Gaza, not the occupation in Lebanon which is now I believe on its way potentially to being a genocide as well,” he said from the pulpit. “I pray for the day when Palestinians and Lebanese and Israelis can come to know one another, recognize each other’s equal humanity, the spark of divine image, the need for safety and peace and not for occupation and apartheid and genocide and oppression and war.”

He further vowed to work closely with anti-Israel Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) if elected to Congress.

The comments mark an even further swing leftward for Lander, who has long identified as a “progressive Zionist” and once drew fire from now-allies like Jewish Voice for Peace for participating in a City Council delegation to Israel. 

Goldman, who has been a reliable supporter of Israel in Congress, has also grown increasingly critical of the Jewish state but remains supportive of continued U.S. military aid.

Al Khoei, a Shi’ite mosque named for a rival to late Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, sits well outside the Brooklyn-Manhattan House district Lander hopes to represent but has been a common stop for politicians, including former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Democrat facing a formidable primary challenge from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander next month, won a key endorsement on Thursday from the United Federation of Teachers, a union representing around 200,000 members.   

“Dan Goldman has the integrity we need in Washington,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement. “He fought to curb Trump’s abuses and supported raising taxes on the wealthy — like himself — to level the playing field so all Americans can live with dignity. We are proud to support Dan Goldman for New York’s 10th Congressional District.”

Goldman, a two-term congressman who represents a heavily Jewish district covering parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, has been racking up labor support as he seeks reelection in the June 23 primary against Lander, an outspoken progressive endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

On Monday, Goldman joined New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a labor rally in Lower Manhattan, where she touted his role as lead prosecutor in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment and called him a “go-to man” in Washington.

Despite such high-profile support, Goldman is still eyeing a tough primary in his progressive-leaning district. A recent poll commissioned by a super PAC backing his campaign, for instance, showed Goldman with 42% of the vote, trailing Lander by five points.

Congressional hopeful and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander — Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s favored candidate to dislodge sitting Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) — refused to comment on Mamdani’s veto of a bill that would set NYPD policy around security perimeters at educational facilities during protests, even as a Jewish group Lander co-founded denounced the mayor’s move. 

Lander has not issued a public statement on the move and failed to respond to calls or text messages on his personal cell phone from Jewish Insider, while his campaign did not answer queries sent via phone and email regarding Mamdani’s controversial Friday veto, the first of his mayoralty. 

Meanwhile, New York Jewish Agenda, a progressive group Lander co-founded, declared itself “disappointed” in the democratic socialist mayor’s decision to block the measure from becoming law.

“We strongly believe in the right to protest and the importance of free expression. But those rights must be balanced with the equally important right  to access educational spaces safely and freely,” NYJA said in a Friday statement. “This bill represented a good faith effort to provide solutions during a tense moment in our city. We had hoped Mayor Mamdani would recognize that protecting these spaces and preserving civil liberties are not opposing values.”

NYJA’s former executive director, Phylisa Wisdom, currently leads the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism. 

The bill Mamdani struck down was part of a package with a similar measure that would formalize NYPD policy for guaranteeing access and egress at houses of worship — both were a response to recent pro-Hamas protests targeting synagogues and yeshivas in the five boroughs. Both measures contained language compelling the police commissioner to establish official protocol for the use of security perimeters near doorways and driveways, and neither imposed significant conditions on what that procedure would look like.

The bill on houses of worship passed with a veto-proof majority after the police department, which falls under Mamdani’s office, said it had “no objections” to the measure. But the educational facilities proposal passed with a far smaller margin, and the mayor asserted that it defined educational facilities too broadly and might conflict with union activity, even though the language of the proposal contains a carveout for organized labor.

The city bills are both distinct from state legislation Gov. Kathy Hochul has endorsed that would make it a felony to come within 25 feet of the entry points to a house of worship or an abortion clinic. They also differ from new congressional legislation that would impose federal fines and even prison time on any person engaged in intimidation, obstruction, or harassment within 100 feet of a religious institution.

For his part, a spokesperson for Goldman told JI that the sitting congressman supports both the city and state proposals but withheld an opinion on Suozzi’s bill, which he promised to “thoroughly review.”

The hotly anticipated primary matchup between outgoing New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) was widely expected to be a bellwether race that would test the strength of pro-Israel sentiment within the Democratic Party.

Featuring two prominent Jewish New Yorkers with sharply opposing views on the Middle East, the race notably pits Lander, an outspoken critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, against Goldman, a more moderate incumbent viewed as a strong defender of the Jewish state.

But nearly a week after announcing his challenge, Lander, the progressive New York City comptroller, is so far tiptoeing around such differences, even as they are arguably the driving contrast in the primary. Instead, he has more actively emphasized a message that is casting Goldman as ineffective in countering President Donald Trump — declaring it is “time for fighters” and “not folders” in Congress.

His top surrogates — including a range of vocal Israel critics including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City — have made no mention of Middle East policy in their statements endorsing his campaign to represent New York’s 10th Congressional District, which covers Lower Manhattan and a swath of northwest Brooklyn.

“We need more fighters in Washington now more than ever, and Brad is a fighter,” Warren said last week, adding that Lander has “the grit to not just win this race, but deliver for working families.”

Such comments, however, have failed to note that Goldman, who was elected to Congress in 2022, is recognized as a leading Trump antagonist, having served as the top prosecutor in the president’s first impeachment case. Like Lander, he has frequently confronted the Trump administration on a range of issues including its immigration agenda. Last week, for instance, Goldman seized the spotlight during a fiery House hearing in which he clashed with Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary — accusing her of illegally deporting asylum seekers in a grilling that drew headlines and social media virality.

Warren’s team did not respond to a request for comment when asked why she was not satisfied with Goldman’s record opposing Trump and his administration’s policies.

The early effort by Lander and some of his allies to employ rhetoric focused largely on fighting Trump has obscured how Israel is the clearest dividing line in the race — raising questions about Lander’s strategy as he seeks to shape a narrative Goldman’s supporters have dismissed as a misdirection. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), in a statement last week, countered that her colleague is one of the “best members” she has “ever served with” and said he “is exactly the right fighter for this moment.”

With opposition to Trump likely a major motivating force for midterm voters, Lander is now facing scrutiny over his attacks targeting a two-term incumbent who has long staked his reputation on effectively battling the president. Meanwhile, in the wake of Israel’s recent ceasefire with Hamas, it remains to be seen if Gaza will continue to be an animating issue heading into the June primary election that is already shaping up to be a heated and expensive race.

Goldman, a Levi Strauss heir whose estimated net worth is up to $250 million, spent nearly $5 million of his own money during his first primary bid three years ago, when he narrowly prevailed in a crowded field of progressive rivals who split the vote. Lander has also targeted Goldman’s personal wealth, saying that the “oligarchy” should not “be able to buy a seat in Congress.”

Even as Lander, a former longtime city councilman from Brooklyn, touts high-profile support from the Senate, House progressives have for their part so far stayed on the sidelines. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), an Israel critic who backed Lander’s comptroller bid in 2021 and called him a “talented hero” after his arrest by federal agents at an immigration courthouse last June, said she is “not weighing into that race right now,” echoing other like-minded lawmakers who also declined to take sides in the looming primary.

While Lander has long identified as a progressive Zionist, he has been outspoken in criticizing Israel’s conduct in Gaza, accusing the country of war crimes and ethnic cleansing. He has additionally called for conditioning U.S. aid to Israel, a measure Goldman has rejected. 

“What Lander is counting on now is the sentiment of the moment, which is further to the left and more anti-Israel,” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic consultant in New York City, told Jewish Insider in a recent interview.

In a speech before the mayoral election, where he rose to prominence as a top surrogate for Mamdani after losing his own primary bid, Lander advocated for building a “coalition of anti-Zionists and liberal Zionists,” seeking to unify opposing factions to end “the horrors in Gaza.” 

Goldman, for his part, chose not to endorse Mamdani, citing concerns about his approach to Israel and rising antisemitism, but he has said he looks forward to working with the mayor-elect on promoting his affordability agenda.

“What Lander is counting on now is the sentiment of the moment, which is further to the left and more anti-Israel,” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic consultant in New York City, told Jewish Insider in a recent interview.

Still, in the days after launching his campaign, Lander has sent mixed signals about how he plans to highlight differences with his opponent on Israel. 

In his campaign announcement video released last Wednesday, for example, he took a thinly veiled jab at Goldman in vowing not to do “AIPAC’s bidding,” referring to the increasingly demonized pro-Israel group, but did not mention the incumbent by name.

Lander told The New York Daily News in an interview last week that he views contrasts over Gaza as ancillary to their approaches to confronting the Trump administration, drawing raised eyebrows from observers who noted that hitting Goldman on his strongest issue avoids addressing a more salient tension over Middle East policy.

“On this issue, we have some disagreements,” he said of Israel, “but the core rationale is because it’s time for fighters not folders,” Lander elaborated on his approach to the race.

One Jewish community leader supportive of Goldman expressed frustration at the logic behind Lander’s challenge. “I’m just pissed that there’s not a single thing they can point to what Goldman isn’t doing right other than being pro-Israel,” he told JI, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive subject.

During a campaign kickoff event in Brooklyn last week, Lander accused Goldman of failing to hold Israel accountable for its behavior in Gaza, saying “only I, of the two of us, recognize that Netanyahu’s leveling of schools and hospitals and the destruction of Gaza was a war crime,” in reference to the Israeli prime minister. He also reiterated that New Yorkers “don’t want elected officials who do AIPAC bidding in a district that recognizes that our safety and our freedom is bound up together.”

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Lander’s campaign, disputed criticism that he is avoiding Israel as a top issue. “Brad literally called out AIPAC in his launch video, so safe to say he will continue to spend quite a bit of time discussing Israel in this race,” she said in a statement to JI on Friday. 

On Friday, Lander also said on social media that, if he were a member of Congress, he would introduce a resolution censuring Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) over his recent incendiary comments calling for Muslims to be “destroyed.” Lander, without directly citing his opponent, also noted he would “not have voted with Republicans” to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) over incendiary comments against Israel during the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, as Goldman himself had done.

Hours later, Goldman also denounced Fine in an X post for remarks assailing Muslims as “barbarians,” calling the statement “despicable and unacceptable” and saying he “must apologize and retract this tweet immediately.”

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Lander’s campaign, disputed criticism that he is avoiding Israel as a top issue. “Brad literally called out AIPAC in his launch video, so safe to say he will continue to spend quite a bit of time discussing Israel in this race,” she said in a statement to JI on Friday. 

“Brad will also speak to the other issues concerning NY-10 voters, including affordability — another topic where the heir to the Levi Strauss fortune is out of step with the district’s experience. NY-10 voters don’t need a representative that’s palling around with Don[ald Trump] Jr. in the Bahamas, they need someone who understands and represents their views,” Hitt added, referring to an October social media post in which Trump’s son sarcastically thanked Goldman for his “kind words” about the president’s ceasefire and hostage deal during the government shutdown.

For now, it is unclear how AIPAC and pro-Israel groups more broadly are assessing the matchup — and if they will choose to engage in the primary. A spokesperson for AIPAC declined to weigh in. 

In 2022, AIPAC disclosed after Goldman had won his primary that its super PAC, United Democracy Project, had quietly contributed at least $350,000 to a separate group established near the end of the race to fund a series of attack ads against Yuh-Line Niou, a far-left rival who had drawn controversy for voicing alignment with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

One pro-Israel consultant, who was granted anonymity to address a sensitive topic, suggested “AIPAC’s involvement in the race would probably be a negative against Goldman.” Mamdani, an ally of Lander who has long been a fierce critic of Israel, performed well in the district — where Goldman’s views on Israel have faced backlash from left-wing voters.

Democratic Majority for Israel, which is backing Goldman, had been wary of a one-on-one contest with Lander, whom polling has shown is a strong opponent, according to a person familiar with the group’s discussions. Lander’s early consolidation of progressive support helped to push two other rivals on the left not to run in the race, effectively clearing the field for the outgoing comptroller. A spokesperson for DMFI did not respond to requests for comment regarding its plans.

Goldman, meanwhile, said in an interview with a local news outlet last week he welcomes Lander’s challenge but is “not really thinking about” the race “right now.” A campaign spokesperson said that he is “focused on stopping” Trump and “will deal with Brad and other challengers in the new year,” when he is “planning to roll out a flood of” endorsements from fellow House members.

Despite differences over Israel, Goldman is also endorsed by J Street, a progressive Israel advocacy group that has long been close to Lander. A spokesperson for J Street told JI in a statement the group is “proud” to back Goldman and “we deeply value his pro-Israel, pro-peace and pro-democracy leadership.”

“Dan has a progressive record,” said Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist. “It’s not always as far left on Israel as Brad, for sure, and that is one of the things that differentiates them on policy.” Israel, he added, “could be a defining issue in this race,” regardless of Lander’s messaging efforts to prioritize Trump.

“We are also grateful for our years-long friendship with Brad Lander, who is a vocal leader for our values. We know that the issue of peace is close to both of their hearts,” the spokesperson continued. “Ultimately, it is up to the district to determine who they want to represent them in Congress, and we are glad to see two J Street-aligned voices in this race.”

A top J Street official, speaking on background to address the primary, confirmed the group will not be engaging materially in the race as it is satisfied with both candidates’ records. “I expect our donor base will give to both,” the official told JI. “There’s definitely a split of opinion on this race, to say the least.”

“Dan has a progressive record,” said Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist. “It’s not always as far left on Israel as Brad, for sure, and that is one of the things that differentiates them on policy.” Israel, he added, “could be a defining issue in this race,” regardless of Lander’s messaging efforts to prioritize Trump.

Lander, for his part, could also face backlash from far-left activists in the district who have bristled at his identification as a progressive Zionist and have taken issue with his investments in an Israeli arms producer as comptroller, even as he chose to cease holdings of Israel bonds during his four years in office.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is focused largely on winning back the House in next year’s midterms, declined to comment on the primary, though it has traditionally backed incumbents.

Locally, a political advocacy group in the district called Brooklyn BridgeBuilders, which is dedicated to fighting antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment, is planning to support Goldman and is currently in the process of formalizing its strategy, according to Ramon Maislen, its CEO.

“The decision to challenge a highly effective liberal Jewish incumbent is incredibly fraught,” Maislen, a Jewish community activist who lives in Park Slope, told JI. “Dan is someone who has been unwavering in taking on Trump, defending our democracy and standing with the Jewish community.”

With Brad Lander’s announcement on Wednesday of his primary challenge to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), allies of the progressive New York City comptroller are feeling particularly bullish about his prospects.

Lander, a former longtime city councilman, is widely known in Goldman’s left-leaning, heavily Jewish district, which covers Lower Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn. Polling has suggested a primary matchup will be competitive. Lander is also expected to notch a key endorsement from Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City and a democratic socialist who performed strongly in the deep-blue district last month.

But even as Lander now seeks to capitalize on the newfound momentum from Mamdani’s victory, some experts speculated that he could face more obstacles than his supporters have envisioned in his bid to unseat a two-term incumbent with vast personal wealth and who is nationally recognized as a top Democratic foe of President Donald Trump.

“A Democratic primary for Congress during a midterm election in which the narrative will strongly focus on rebuking President Trump and his agenda means, for candidates, a heavy reliance on credibility taking on the president,” Jake Dilemani, a Democratic consultant, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. 

Goldman, a Jewish Democrat who served as a Trump impeachment prosecutor before he was elected, “has those credentials and the ability to show voters how he took on Trump in the past and won,” Dilemani said. “His antagonistic history with President Trump is unique compared to the rest of the field.”

While both Lander and Goldman have been forceful opponents of Trump’s deportation efforts, Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, called Goldman “the guy who took on Trump before it was fashionable,” arguing that he “has plenty to run on.”

He also predicted that Lander “is going to have problems going after Goldman” over his support for Israel “because [Lander is] a Jew who identifies as a liberal Zionist,” a term increasingly used as a pejorative on the far left. Lander, 56, has long been a vocal critic of Israel, but he is not aligned with the anti-Zionist left in refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, a disagreement that could fuel some tension during his campaign.

“You can’t dislodge an incumbent without a negative campaign. What’s the negative campaign? It’s not clear yet,” Sheinkopf told JI. “Goldman has a better playbook to work with.”

In a statement to JI on Tuesday, Maddy Rosen, a spokesperson for Goldman, said the congressman “is focused on stopping the Trump administration from what they’re doing to immigrant families in his district right now.”

“He’s proud of his progressive record in Congress and will deal with Brad and other challengers in the new year,” Rosen added.

A spokesperson for Lander declined to comment. Mamdani’s team did not respond to a request for comment.

Lander, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor, during which he emerged as a top ally of Mamdani, had been widely viewed as poised for a leading role in the mayor-elect’s administration. Instead of offering him a job, Mamdani reportedly encouraged him to challenge Goldman, promising an endorsement in next year’s June primary, likely to be among the most bitterly contested Democratic fights of the upcoming election cycle.

Goldman, 49, does still possess some notable vulnerabilities that have made him a target of the left. His outspoken support for Israel amid its war in Gaza irked many progressive voters, for instance, while his ties to AIPAC have fueled criticism from another potential rival, Alexa Avilés, a far-left city councilwoman who has been weighing a campaign. 

Yuh-Line Niou, a former state assemblywoman who narrowly lost to Goldman during his first House bid in 2022, was considering a rematch but decided not to run to avoid splintering the anti-Goldman vote, she said on Tuesday.

Chris Coffey, a Democratic consultant who lives in the district, posited that by entering the race earlier than his potential opponents, Lander is now “trying to box out” the Democratic Socialists of America — which has officially endorsed Avilés for the primary.

“I think Dan will be able to raise money and have folks spend on his behalf,” Coffey added. “Overall a lot of money will be spent on this race.”

A spokesperson for AIPAC, which has endorsed Goldman and supported his first House campaign, declined to comment on the brewing primary battle.

Even absent outside spending, Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune whose estimated net worth is up to $250 million, can draw on his own personal wealth to help fund his reelection bid and mount an offensive against Lander — who is hoping to capture the enthusiasm of the party’s grassroots base and is reportedly courting endorsements from progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

During his first congressional primary three years ago, Goldman dropped nearly $5 million of his own money into the race, prevailing in a crowded field of prominent progressive opponents with a plurality of the vote. Goldman easily won reelection last year, beating a handful of lesser-known challengers.