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To the editor:
Primary Day for the Democrats is June 23rd. A key contest is in the 10th district between two-term Congressman Dan Goldman and former City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander. These are two progressives with major differences on Israel, a country which plays a pivotal role in the disastrous military policies of the U.S. in the Middle East.
Brad Lander has called Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide, as have the vast majority of genocide scholars and numerous UN agencies and human rights organizations. Dan Goldman refuses to call the Gaza war a genocide. Lander has used the word “occupation” to describe Israel’s control of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The UN has frequently used this term and has directed Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. Goldman has reportedly never publicly used that term. Lander is critical of sending billions of dollars of U.S. military aid to Israel, given its human rights violations that break U.S. laws. Goldman has voted for every U.S. military aid program to Israel. He has also voted against a war powers resolution introduced by Representative Rashida Tlaib that would end U.S. military involvement in Israel’s Lebanon war. Despite ceasefires, Israel has killed over 3,600 people in Lebanon, carried out over 3,500 airstrikes, displaced approximately 1.2 million people, destroyed entire villages in South Lebanon, used white phosphorous according to visual evidence, and gone beyond its unilateral “Yellow Line” in South Lebanon, occupying one-fifth of the country. Lander has never accepted AIPAC money, while Goldman has taken AIPAC-aligned donations. Progressives have pointed out that AIPAC spends enormous amounts of money to punish and intimidate Democratic lawmakers and candidates critical of Israel. At the same time it endorses and provides money to help elect Democrats and Republicans, including right-wing extremists, who support Israel.
Goldman declined to endorse Mayor Mamdani, a strong critic of Israel, in the 2025 primary and general election.
Howard Elterman
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