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Collage photo \u2014 Brad Lander (L) and Rep. Dan Goldman (R). Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images and Dan Goldman for Congress<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Jacob Kornbluh<\/a><\/p>\n March 3, 2026<\/p>\n A months-long redistricting battle that had cast a long period of uncertainty over one of New York\u2019s most closely watched Democratic primaries ended Monday, clearing the way for a high-stakes clash between two prominent Jewish candidates in a district that voted heavily for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and strident critic of Israel.<\/p>\n The U.S. Supreme Court halted a lower-court order that would have forced New York to break up a Republican-held district in New York City, setting up a primary showdown between Rep. Dan Goldman, a two-term incumbent, and former City Comptroller Brad Lander in the safely Democratic 10th Congressional District, which includes Borough Park and Park Slope in Brooklyn as well as parts of lower Manhattan.<\/p>\n Lander, who is backed by Mamdani and is popular among the district\u2019s progressive electorate, had held back from sharp attacks on Goldman while Democrats awaited a ruling on whether the neighboring 11th District \u2014 which includes parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island \u2014 would be redrawn after a state judge found the 2022 map unconstitutional. Had that order been upheld, Goldman, backed by House Democratic leadership, was expected to run against Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, with an electorate that leans more to the right than the one he now represents.<\/p>\n \u201cI am holds barred against him,\u201d Lander told City & State<\/a> last month with the case still pending, explaining that he did not want to weaken Goldman with primary attacks that Republicans could later weaponize if Goldman ended up facing Malliotakis in a general election.<\/p>\n That strategic truce by Lander could now be over. Lander has already made Goldman\u2019s support from the militantly pro-Israel campaign finance group AIPAC central<\/a> to his campaign. J Street, a pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group, endorsed Goldman<\/a> for reelection as incumbent, but also \u201capproved\u201d Lander as a congressional candidate to allow donors to contribute to his campaign through the J Street PAC portal.<\/p>\n Jewish voters are estimated to comprise more than 20% of the June 23 primary electorate<\/p>\n A proxy fight over Israel and Iran The primary\u2019s outcome could have implications beyond New York\u2019s 10th District. It will test whether a candidate who\u00a0 shares the mainstream position of Democratic leadership on Israel can fend off a challenge from the progressive wing at a time when views on Israel are becoming a defining issue within the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n Recent polls<\/a> showed the wider tensions<\/a> within the Democratic Party, which loomed large in the 2024 presidential election in the wake of the Gaza war, are likely to shape the midterm elections. Palestinian rights \u2014 and now opposition to the war in Iran \u2014 have increasingly become a litmus test for progressive candidates<\/a> seeking to define themselves against establishment Democrats.<\/p>\n Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune who was elected in a competitive primary<\/a> in 2022,\u00a0 is aligned with the mainstream positions of national Democrats on Israel: supportive of Israel\u2019s security while finding a pathway for a two-state solution, sharply critical<\/a> of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing government, and opposed to settlement expansion<\/a> and settler violence<\/a>. Goldman diverged from some of his colleagues on key Israel-related bills, including his opposition to measures<\/a> to block or condition U.S. arms transfers to Israel, and he refused to sign onto a letter<\/a> opposing President Donald Trump\u2019s initial vision of the U.S. taking control of Gaza and turning it into the \u201cRiviera of the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n On Saturday, as the joint U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran unfolded, Goldman criticized<\/a> Trump\u2019s embrace of regime change, calling the U.S. action a declaration of war without required congressional authorization. He said he would vote for a bipartisan measure to limit the president\u2019s war powers<\/a> before the U.S. expands the conflict with Tehran. Still, Goldman did not rule out military action<\/a> against Iran\u2019s regime if it were backed by a credible plan with congressional and international support.<\/p>\n Lander describes himself as a liberal Zionist but has also allied himself with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, cross-endorsing Mamdani when both ran for mayor and working closely with progressive Jewish organizations such as Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and New Jewish Agenda.<\/p>\n In 2021, he supported<\/a> Ben & Jerry\u2019s decision to end sales in the occupied West Bank. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Lander regularly attended a weekly rally<\/a> against the Israeli government\u2019s handling of the war in Gaza and backed early calls<\/a> for a permanent ceasefire. Last September, he expressed regret<\/a> for not doing enough \u201cto speak out against Israel\u2019s war crimes, against ethnic cleansing, against forced starvation of Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n More recently, Lander described<\/a> the war as \u201cgenocide,\u201d citing the writings of Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term, and said he\u2019d support a progressive-led bill to prohibit the sale or transfer of offensive weapons to Israel. As comptroller, Lander ended<\/a> New York City\u2019s half-century practice of investing millions in Israeli government debt securities.<\/p>\n
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R to L: Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and
Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller, on Aug. 7, 2025. Photo by Victor J. Blue\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n