In honor of Father’s Day, this week’s substack is dedicated to all the incredible, hilarious, loving, reliable, caring and silly Jewish dads.
MAMDANI CALLS AIPAC “MONSTERS” AND THE NYC DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY’S OBSESSION WITH ISRAEL
Early voting is in full swing this past week with Election Day slated for Tuesday, June 23. Candidates positions on Israel and AIPAC has become a primary focus - one might even call it an obsession - this election cycle. This rhetoric is being fueled by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Mamdani, and progressive allies of the mayor like Senator Bernie Sanders.
The mayor, while wearing a Knicks jersey, spoke at a rally for the candidates he backed in the Democratic primary. He specifically targeted the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) - and no other entity - calling them monsters and saying:
“They move millions in dark money to accomplish a single goal, to preserve their power, so that they can turn us against one another, instead of our leaders turning towards the moral change we all know to be necessary.”
“AIPAC, for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu’s wars.”
Photo Source: CNN via Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
Dan Senor, the host of the podcast Call Me Back, author, and geopolitical expert posted this on X.
What is AIPAC?
American Israel Public Affairs Committee or AIPAC is an American lobbying group focused on strengthening the United States-Israel partnership. AIPAC provides bipartisan support and funding to Democrats and Republicans to help elect pro-Israel candidates as part of an effort to support the long-standing alliance between the two countries.
What AIPAC is not and where does it spend its contributions?
AIPAC is not a foreign lobby. It is an American organization with millions of donors.
Despite the inordinate amount of coverage AIPAC gets in the news and by candidates running for Congress, it is by no means a “major spender” as lobbying firms go.
Data shows that AIPAC spent approximately $3.75 million for pro-Israel lobbying in 2025. In 2024, they ranked 191 on the lobbying list.
An important distinction: AIPAC directs a significant portion of its resources into backing pro-Israel candidates rather than lobbying the United States government.
In 2024, they ranked 18th in financially backing candidates, contributing $51,848,113 for that election cycle.
Mamdani Backed Candidates Focus on Israel & AIPAC
Darializa Avila Chevalier, 32, who is running for a seat in the 13th Congressional District, is backed by the mayor and has pushed an anti-Israel position as a core tenet of her campaign. At Columbia University she was part of SJP and is endorsed by the DSA. Like the mayor, she consistently connects Israel to domestic issues in New York, and equates minority communities in the United States to Palestinian issues.
Photo Source: NY Times
“I saw so many connections to what was happening to Palestinians there in Palestine and what was happening to so many communities across the US, particularly black and Latino communities.” - Darializa Avila Chevalier
Claire Valdez, another Mamdani backed candidate, running against Antonio Reynoso, made the false statement that a recently formed PAC, Real Fight NYC, was a dark shell funded by AIPAC. Politico reported the Valdez spokesperson made this statement:
“What we do know: AIPAC donors have maxed out to Antonio Reynoso — and AIPAC has spent this cycle running shell PACs across the country to take out anti-genocide, pro-peace candidates without leaving fingerprints.” - Ritti Singh
Reynoso denies taking AIPAC money. City and State reports that Real Fight NYC, a newly formed PAC that spent $650,000 on the Reynoso campaign, is funded by labor unions, not AIPAC.
Brad Lander, who is in a tight-race against Dan Goldman for a seat in the 10th Congressional District, also focused on AIPAC and Israel in the debate last week.
Lander said “We can’t continue to be complicit in genocide” while Goldman did not agree with using the word genocide and reiterated his position on a ceasefire, peace, and Palestinian statehood. The two candidates also debated AIPAC.
The through line is that all three Mamdani backed candidates attacked Israel in their campaigns. The claims range from vitriolic to obsessive anti-Israel rhetoric that somehow correlates the complex decades-long history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with local domestic issues in NYC. Chevalier compared the situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to displacement and gentrification in her district. Valdez compared being against genocide while targeting AIPAC, when the reality is neither herself nor Reynoso have been backed by group. Lander has drawn a wedge between himself and Goldman, both Jewish Democrats, primarily on the issue of Israel.
MORE IN NYC NEWS
ANTI-ISRAEL FUNDRAISER FOR CONVICTED CRIMINALS
Multiple anti-Israel activist organizations have come together to fundraise for three men involved in anti-Israel and antisemitic crimes.
The three men are: Jakhi McCray, Tarek Bazrouk, and Mohamad Hamad. McCray pled guilty to federal arson charges after causing $800,000 of damage to multiple NYPD vehicles, which affected the NYPD in handling anti-Israel protests. Bazrouk received a 17-month sentence for assaulting Jews. He pled guilty to a hate-crimes conspiracy charge. Hamad is awaiting trial on vandalizing Chabad and the Jewish Federation in Pittsburgh.
The event, Repression Breeds Resistance, is scheduled in Brooklyn this coming Friday. It has been condemned by the organization End Jew Hatred for promoting terrorism and extremism.
A dozen groups are participating in fundraising for these men, including CUNY Palestine and PAL-Awda.
ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION UNDER INVESTIGATION
The Brandeis Center for Human Rights Law filed a complaint in August 2025 against the American Psychological Association (APA) alleging “Jewish and Israeli psychologists have faced exclusion, hostility, and discrimination in professional and clinical settings.”
The complaint alleges multiple incidents of antisemitic rhetoric, negative comments about Zionism, the encouragement of “decolonizing therapy,” and messages among APA members that “glorify Hamas, call for boycotts of Israel, compare Gaza to the Warsaw ghetto and pray for Israel’s destruction.”
The APA receives federal funding and a human rights investigation has now been opened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR).
The APA passed their Resolution on Antisemitism in February 2026.
CORNELL STUDENTS IN THE NEWS
“Not interested in working for a Jew”
Gabe Einhorn (left below), the CEO of VryfID, was hiring applicants on Handshake, a job site platform, for a summer internship when he received an antisemitic message from Cornell student Austin Franco (right below).
When trying to schedule a time for an interview, Franco responded “not interested in working for a Jew.” Einhorn blacked out Franco’s information and posted the exchange on his X account to show the blatant antisemitism.
Einhorn did not reveal Franco’s information. Rather, Franco exposed himself and doubled down on his response on X.
Since then, nearly $20,000 have been raised for Franco by a far-right Youtuber who wants another Hitler by 2039. Einhorn has received death threats, his business has been attacked online, and he has been accused for doxxing Franco, despite the fact that Franco doxxed himself on social media.
A bias investigation has been initiated by Cornell University.
“Somehow when it comes to Jewish people, it’s become a trend that if you hate Jews, you get rewarded, you get paid. People support you and got your back for you hating Jews.” - Gabe Einhorn
Cornell Student Banned from Campus
In April, Cornell University president Michael I. Kotlikoff was harassed by pro-Palestine protestors after hosting an Israel-Palestine debate series. While trying to leave campus after the debate, Kotlikoff’s car was surrounded by several protestors who tried to block his car. One of these protestors, Aiden Vallecillo, alleged Kotlikoff’s car ran over his foot.
The Cornell Daily Sun reports Vallecillo has received a persona non-grata notice and a one-year campus ban for an “intentional act that created a hazardous condition.”
Vallecillo does not appear to express remorse for his actions, and gave this statement to the university paper:
“It’s their playbook, it’s what the University does every time there is a bubble of student activism. They slowly, over the course of weeks or months, draw them into sham investigations where they’re suspended. ... They wait for students to become ignorant and then they jump on that to silence their voices.” - Aiden Vallecillo
ENGLAND - A London synagogue hosting an event about real estate in Israel was surrounded by approximately 1,000 protestors last Sunday. 14 people were arrested on violence and public-order offenses. A counterprotest was held in response.
CANADA - Just weeks after Prime Minister Carney’s address on antisemitism, the Jewish community is being targeted by gunmen believed to be hired online by foreign entities.
Several individuals, ages 18 and 19, have been arrested in Toronto. The Canadian government is citing a broad pattern of “criminals for hire” who are targeting synagogues, Jewish schools, and the U.S. consulate.
"What we know is that bad actors are using criminal elements in our city to carry out these dangerous incidents, and it is clear that some of the people hiring these criminals want to create a sense of fear in our communities, including in the Jewish community.” - Police Chief Myron Demkiw
SPAIN - San Sebastian is in the news (again), this time with a pro-Palestinian protest that had signs with the Star of David and swastika, equating the symbol of the Jewish people to a fascist symbol that led to the death of 6 million Jews.
AWARDS FOR JEWISH LITERATURE GO TO…
The Sami Rohr prize for Jewish literature was awarded this past Tuesday. The 2026 winner is journalist Amir Tibon who wrote The Gates of Gaza, a personal story of his and his family’s survival on October 7 in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The other finalists are listed here.
Photo Source: Sami Rohr Website
KNICKS FEVER CONTINUES
The Knicks winning the NBA finals was everything New Yorkers needed now more than ever. For those diehard Knicks fans that want to commemorate the historic win, Jewish Drip has 2026 championship mezuzahs, and Schmidts has 613 T-shirts for the divine win.
For more on the 613 reference, stories are circulating (here and here) about the intersection of coincidence versus a divine intervention. Whatever your belief, the Knicks won on 6/13, which happens to be the exact number of Torah commandments.
Also, recommend Uri Berliner story How the Knicks Saved New York—and Me
CHABAD HOSTS FIFA SHABBAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY
With soccer fans traveling from around the globe to watch the World Cup, Chabad is hosting hundreds of Jewish fans for shabbat. The Jewish Latin Center in Manhattan had over 200 Jews representing six continents for shabbos, with Miami, Dallas, and Mexico City, welcoming visitors for dinners and minyans.
“It was life-changing for me to look around the room, with Manhattan’s skyline in the background, and see proud Jews from around the world wearing kippahs and lighting Shabbat candles.” - Jacobo Ben-Yosef, FIFA Fan
Photo Source: Chabad.org
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