Israel is factoring into primaries across the United States, but perhaps nowhere more than New York. Next Tuesday, voters in the state will head to the polls, where issues like AIPAC and the Gaza genocide are in the ballot in some capacity.
In the 13th district, last-minute pro-Israel donations are pouring in to help incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat escape a formidable challenge from pro-Palestine organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is backed by Mayor Mamdani, NYC-DSA, and Justice Democrats.
At Drop Site News, Ryan Grim and Julian Andreone report on the spending boom. They reveal that, on a single June day, Espaillat raised nearly $112,000 from 69 wealthy donors.
“Not a single donor listed an address inside Espaillat’s district, which encompasses Harlem and surrounding areas, and 48 of the donors have also given large amounts of money to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) since 2023,” the article explains. “That number goes up to 67 out of the 69 contributors if you include donations to AIPAC-adjacent organizations like Democratic Majority for Israel and the Republican Jewish Coalition. At least 44 of the new Espaillat donors have given heavily to Republicans.”
In recent weeks, Chevalier has faced a full-court press from pro-Israel organizations and right-wing media over the fact that she attended a pro-Palestine protest the day after October 7.
The New York Post says she’s a “scandal-plagued” candidate with a “twisted history of bashing Israel”, while Jewish Insider complains that she’s shown “no regret” for attending an “anti-Israel protest organized by pro-China, pro-Iran groups.”
“I was at this rally because I have always, as someone who has followed the issues that happened in the region, I have seen a pattern in which whenever there is an incident, the State of Israel engages in a response that is often disproportionate and creates a greater loss of life,” Chevalier told a reporter. “And that is what I was there to stand against.”
Anyone paying minimal attention to the world knows that all the concerns Chevalier alludes to turned out to be extremely valid, as Israel went on to commit genocide and ignite a wider war throughout the region.
In the state’s 10th district, the Israel lobby has also emerged as a central issue of the campaign.
Incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman is being challenged by former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Both candidates use the oxymoronic term “progressive Zionist” to describe themselves, but Lander has spent the campaign trying to establish himself as a critic of AIPAC, while Goldman has openly accepted their support.
During a recent debate, Goldman attempted to stake out some middle ground on the issue by criticizing the powerful organization backing him.
“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 told the crowd. “I do think that AIPAC has some real problems and is harmful in many ways.”
It’s hard to believe that this bewildering stance will generate much support among Democratic voters, as 80% of them view Israel critically. Beyond the AIPAC support, Goldman won’t refer to the country’s actions in Gaza as a genocide or acknowledge that the West Bank is illegally occupied.
It’s not surprising that Goldman is expected to lose on Tuesday.
Reactions to U.S. losing another war
Months ago, President Trump started a war against Iran, partially at the behest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It now seems that the conflict might be over, and it’s abundantly clear that the two world leaders have taken a massive L, as Iran has decisively beaten the United States.
Despite repeatedly threatening Iran and claiming an imminent ceasefire nearly 40 times, the White House achieved none of its stated objectives and was all but begging for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Ali Khamenei is dead, but the Iranian leadership remains strongly entrenched. Trump says he will unfreeze $25 billion in Iranian funds, and the U.S. is back to square one on nuclear talks. As for the pending negotiations, it was always unclear why Iran would ever trust an administration that violated the existing deal that it was already abiding by.
You can tell this is a massive setback for Israel because they’re trying to derail nuclear talks by attacking Lebanon, and their most ardent supporters are melting down.
After Trump publicly expressed frustration over Netanyahu’s recent strikes on Beirut, MAGA pundit Mark Levin criticized the President, possibly for the first time.
“In a period of two-months, Israel has gone from a great ally and partner in war, fighting by our side against a horrible enemy that has killed thousands of our people, killed tens of thousands of their own people, and was a dire nuclear threat intent on attacking us, to Israeli PM Netanyahu being a difficult person who should be thanking us for saving his country from Iran and should get our permission if he wants to defend his people from Hezbollah and Iran, and stand down when his country is attacked,” he wrote.
A clip of neocon writers Eli Lake and John Podhoretz angrily screaming over the war’s outcome went viral this week. “The wins keep coming as two of the most bloodthirsty losers in modern history melt down over the end of a monstrous war,” wrote Eli Valley, who shared the video.
On the opposite side of the aisle, the Democratic establishment is predictably criticizing the war’s end . . . from the right.
An Op-Ed from the New York Times’s editorial board laments that the United States, which spent the last two-plus years backing a genocide, might now look weaker in the “eyes of the world.”
“The American military has shown itself unable to quash a much smaller opponent even as it burned through many of its long-range precision missiles and interceptors,” explains the paper. “The outcome damages this country’s ability to deter other potential adversaries. To begin to repair the damage, the United States would be wise to mend alliances in Europe, the Middle East and Asia that have been frayed by the war’s military and economic effects. The Pentagon will also need to modernize and prepare for future wars. Neither is likely to happen under President Trump.”
“I love liberals when they try to think constructively,” the late Alexander Cockburn used to say.
You can find similar narratives embraced by Democratic lawmakers, like Senator Cory Booker.
“Don’t believe the hype on Trump’s deal with Iran. This isn’t peace or strength—it’s a dangerous giveaway,” tweeted Booker. “The Strait of Hormuz was open before Trump’s war. Now he’s handing Iran billions in sanctions relief to rebuild their military. This is a disaster.”
“These sorts of critiques run the risk of feeding into the hawkish illusions that led to the disastrous war in the first place,” writes Jeet Heer in The Nation. “The truth is, Trump launched a foolish and unnecessary war, which the United States has lost decisively. The war proves the US and Israel have limited ability to restrain Iran. So the only alternative is negotiation.”
Odds & Ends
🇺🇸 The time has come for Trump to choose between U.S. and Israeli interests in the Iran war
👀 Netanyahu faces revolt at home as Israel defies U.S.-Iran ceasefire terms
🫏 Responsible Statecraft: Politically charged Dems call Trump deal ‘surrender’ and ‘humiliation’
💲 Common Dreams: In ‘Grotesque Billionaire Bonanza,’ 41 Energy Tycoons Saw Fortunes Grow by $23.5 Billion Since Trump Launched Iran War
🗳️ Jewish Currents: An Anti-AIPAC Insurgent Tests Her Message in a Working-Class Stronghold
🇮🇷 Drop Site: Iran Enlisted “Senior Psychologists” to Help Craft Messages to Trump Ahead of Agreement
📈 Counterpunch: Jared Kushner and the Privatization of America’s Iran Strategy
🔍 Al Jazeera: As deal is agreed with US, not all in Iran are convinced that peace is here
🔄 New York Times Magazine: AIPAC Wants Democrats to Back Israel. Instead, They’re Turning on AIPAC.
🌍 The Nation: Trump’s Iran Deal Is a Humiliation for Him—and Good News for the World
🎉 The Intercept: Trump Celebrates Achieving Absolutely Nothing in Iran
✔️ Zeteo: The New Iran Peace Deal Is a Humiliation for Trump and Netanyahu
Israel, Stunned by Trump’s Iran Deal, Sees It as a ‘Catastrophic Capitulation’…The agreement accomplishes none of Israel’s stated war aims and arguably leaves the country in worse shape on each of them….David Horovitz, the editor of The Times of Israel, called it “a catastrophic capitulation,” in the headline of a fiery opinion column…. others more soberly grappled with the degree to which Mr. Netanyahu’s triumphalist rhetoric from early in the war had proved fantastical. He had repeatedly and confidently assured Israelis that the country and its alliance with the United States were “changing the face of the Middle East” to Israel’s advantage….Dahlia Scheindlin, an American-born Israeli pollster, said it was “slowly sinking in” for Israelis that Mr. Netanyahu had staked the entire U.S.-Israeli relationship on his personal bond with a president prone to “temper tantrums” over “simple slights.”…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/world/middleeast/israel-iran-deal-reaction-netanyahu.html