Zohran-World Plots Primary Against Pro-Israel N.Y. Democrat
Plus: “Tit-print” artist tells of Harvard Dean Rosovsky’s gift to Epstein
The pro-Israel lobby has had some success in recent years targeting extreme anti-Israel Democratic incumbents—Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman—for defeat in primary challenges. Now the anti-Israel forces are preparing a similar move against a Democratic incumbent they say is too pro-Israel.
Data for Progress, a left-wing polling operation, polled what it said were 553 likely Democratic voters in New York’s 10th congressional district.
The firm asked, “Below is a brief statement that opponents of U.S. Representative Dan Goldman have given as a reason that they would vote against him in the 2026 Democratic primary. ‘Democrat Dan Goldman has refused to endorse Zohran Mamdani for Mayor, is a leading supporter of Israel’s war in Gaza, and is a top recipient of money from Aipac.’ Knowing what you know now, if the June 2026 Democratic primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives were held tomorrow, would you be more likely to vote for Dan Goldman or another Democratic candidate?”
Head-to-head against Goldman, the poll also tested Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller. Lander has endorsed Mamdani, called for the U.S. to stop sending “offensive” weapons to Israel, and stopped investing New York pension money in Israel bonds. The poll also asked respondents what they thought of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and of Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that, despite having the word “peace” in its name, is allied with Israel’s militant enemies.
The poll also told respondents, “In addition to being a top recipient of money from AIPAC, a pro-Netanyahu lobbying group that is heavily funded by billionaire Trump donors, Democrat Dan Goldman was one of a handful of Democrats in Congress to vote for Republican-led legislation to protect Benjamin Netanyahu from arrest charges issued by the International Criminal Court, and has voted to provide Israel with over $18 billion in weapons paid for by US taxpayer dollars.”
Past clients of Data for Progress have included Friends of Bernie Sanders, Jamaal Bowman for Congress, and the Working Families Party. The firm’s interim executive director, Ryan O’Donnell, worked on campaigns for Bowman and for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The Hewlett Foundation gave the Tides Foundation a $244,380.66 one-year grant in 2022 for “Data for Progress,” and gave Tides more than $1 million in previous grants to support Data for Progress, the Hewlett website shows. (I wrote in November 2024 for the Wall Street Journal “Big Foundations Helped Democrats Lose the Election,” about how Hewlett ideas had contributed to the Democratic election defeat.) Tides also funds Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Israel group, and other advocacy groups that promote the campaign to boycott, divest and sanction Israel.
“Aaron from Queens,” a Democratic Socialists of America member who was a grassroots organizer in socialist Zohran Mamdani’s win this year of the Democratic nomination for mayor, posted to social media about the poll, which was earlier reported by Semafor. The poll’s findings aren’t that newsworthy; it’s a push poll with a small sample; what’s newsworthy is that it was fielded to make the case or prepare the groundwork for a possible primary challenge.
Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who graduated from Yale College and Stanford Law School and clerked for Robert Sack on the Second Circuit, has taken some pro-Israel votes but isn’t exactly the second coming of Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson, or even of Senator Fetterman. The idea that he would be possibly subject to a primary challenge shows how far to the extreme left, and how quickly, some New York City Democrats are trying to move along with Mamdani. Goldman was first elected in 2022 after the effects of the 2020 census and related litigation left the district without an incumbent. The district includes parts of Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
“Tit-print” artist tells of Harvard Dean’s Rosovsky’s gift to Epstein: Yesterday’s Editors newsletter discussed a 2002 “tit print” by the artist Annie Sprinkle—born Ellen Steinberg—that appears to have been commissioned by Harvard dean Henry Rosovsky for a gift book to Jeffrey Epstein for Epstein’s 50th birthday. This was years before Epstein was charged with or convicted of any crimes.
We wrote yesterday, accurately at the time, that Sprinkle did not return an email inquiry from The Editors asking about whether she recalled the supposed Rosovsky commission for Epstein or the circumstances around it.
After that item was published, we heard back from Sprinkle, who answered the questions I had posed: “Do you have any memory of creating it or interacting with Rosovsky about it? Do you know how it came to be? Can you add anything on the context, the fee, how Rosovsky found you for the project?”
Here’s what she wrote back to me:
Dear Ira Stoll.
I made thousands and thousands of tit prints. I didn’t know Rosovsky or Epstein.
And I’m glad I didn’t!
People send me a check in the mail with what they want written, and I mail a tit print back.
I retired from making them, when I got breast cancer, which I have again now!
I also sold the tit prints at my shows, and at my college gigs. Things like that.
No connection to those guys at all.
Just an artist making art and selling it to anyone that wanted to buy it.
Annie
It strikes me as helpful, useful context—context that was missing from the breathless Crimson account of the situation.
Two good moves from Governor Healey: The governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, is no Scoop Jackson, either, but when she does something sensible it is worth noticing. We’re in a moment when centrist common sense from Democrats can sometimes seem like a man-bites-dog story. Here are two recent examples.
Press release headline: “Governor Healey: 9/11 Should be Taught in Massachusetts Public Schools.” This is such a good idea that you wonder why it’s not already happening. The fact that a lot of young people these days are too young to remember the September 11 terrorist attack may be part of the reason these same young people are willing to tell pollsters that they support the Hamas terrorist organization rather than Israel in the current war.
The statement from the governor says, “All students should be taught about 9/11 and its aftermath, which is a tragic and important piece of both our state and our nation's history. I've directed the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to work together to ensure that it is fully incorporated into school curriculum frameworks. I’m grateful to the families of 9/11 victims who have advocated for this and are making sure that we never forget this horrific tragedy, the incredible displays of heroism on that day, or the thousands of lives that were lost.” One hopes that the curriculum material, without being overly political, describes it as a deliberate attack by Arab, Islamist terrorists, one of a long series of such attacks against America and our allies. The governor’s statement doesn’t say that.
Press release headline: “Governor Healey Unveils Nation-Leading Plan to Cut Environmental Regulations to Fast-Track Housing Development; Reforms will cut environmental review times from 1+ years to 30 days for housing projects to expedite housing and bring down costs.”
This is a bit of a bait-and-switch, because to qualify for the quicker review, projects will have to meet a long list of requirements, including “There must be enough water supply, wastewater capacity and energy infrastructure to support the project” and “Developments must limit the extent of new traffic, with higher thresholds if located near transit” and “All new developments must be constructed outside the current floodplain and other highest hazard areas.” Good luck convincing opponents of that.
Even so, it’s good to hear Healey even saying things like “It’s our job to make sure government moves at the speed of business,” or, in the press release, “These new draft regulations will speed up environmental review times from 1 year or more down to 30 days for housing projects across the state.”
The social media version of this from Healey was “Right now, it can take a year or more to get new homes through the environmental review process. That's way too long. So, let's speed it up. Let's make it 30 days. We don't need to choose between protecting the environment and building more homes. We can do it all.” Usually you get Democrats calling for tougher environmental regulation, not reducing review times, so it’s refreshing, even for those of us who like trees and dislike pollution. Whether the approach makes any appreciable difference in Massachusetts housing supply remains to be seen, especially because a lot of the delays are at the city and town level, not the state level.
If you catch a state or local Democrat moving policy in a sensible centrist direction, please let us know—we may highlight some examples here.
Thank you: If you know someone who would enjoy or benefit from reading The Editors, please help us grow, and help your friends, family members, and associates understand the world around them, by forwarding this email along with a suggestion that they subscribe. Or send a gift subscription. If it doesn’t work on mobile, try desktop. Or vice versa. Or ask a tech-savvy youngster to help. Thank you!