US Rep. Torres’s primary challenger in NY is duped by satirical ‘Chief Rabbi of Gaza’

A New York politician seeking to unseat US Rep. Ritchie Torres failed to clock as satire a social media account claiming to represent a left-wing “Chief Rabbi of Gaza,” praising her work and indicating he’d be open to visiting her “congregation” in the Strip, according to The New York Post.

“Rabbi Linda Goldstein” wrote to Michael Blake, who is running against Torres in a Democratic primary this month, in November of last year, offering to “lend [her] voice to defeat” Torres, the tabloid reported this week.

“I’m about to head to Gaza for two weeks to check on my congregation but please send me an email,” wrote “Goldstein” on November 9, according to the Post.

Blake, a former state assemblyman who worked in the Obama administration, responded: “Powerful. And when not in Gaza, where’s home base?…We need you and your community to be safe. Thank you for leading, inspiring and protecting the people.”

When asked if he would consider coming to Gaza, Blake said: “Certainly would consider.”

There is not, in fact, a chief rabbi of the Gaza Strip. Israel withdrew unilaterally from the territory in 2005, forcibly expelling the Jewish Israelis who lived in settlements there and even exhuming the bodies of deceased Jews from local cemeteries to prevent their desecration.

Though the Strip had a long Jewish history prior to the creation of the modern State of Israel, it has not had any Jewish presence in the two decades since the unilateral disengagement, with the exception of Israeli soldiers deployed there during wars with the Hamas terror group, Gaza’s de facto government.

The user behind the “Goldstein” account — whose bio describes her as a “nude yogi” and who has joked in posts about hosting orgies between rabbis and Palestinian refugees — described her account to the Post as a project to expose “the ignorance and absurdity of the ‘bandwagon’ Free Palestine advocates.”

“[Blake] started following me on X so I figured I would ask if he needed any assistance on his campaign,” the user — who remains anonymous, citing threats — said.

Had the best time marching at the Gaza Pride Parade yesterday. Thank you to the progressive leaders of Hamas for making me Parade Marshall ????????????????????️‍???? pic.twitter.com/DK23ovfUIU

— Rabbi Linda Goldstein (????????????I/P Commentary) (@realrabbilinda) June 2, 2026

In 2024, anti-Israel progressives Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, both of whom were defeated in primary elections by candidates less hostile to Israel, also mistook the account for real.

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said he was concerned by Blake’s susceptibility to the prank, calling it “more than an embarrassing social media moment.”

“It underscores a broader challenge in our public discourse, where misinformation, slogans, and assumptions too often replace knowledge and substance,” he said.

Torres’s district includes the heavily Jewish area of Riverdale as well as several predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods.

The congressman has been outspoken in his support for Israel’s existence and right to self-defense, though he’s been critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, calling National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir a “despicable disgusting dangerous demagogue,” and those responsible for an online influence campaign targeting US lawmakers “blithering idiots.” 

Blake has made Torres’s support for Israel a key campaign issue, accusing the congressman of complicity in what he describes as a “genocide” in Gaza, referring to the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacres and hostage-taking in Israel.

His campaign website calls for an end to all US military support for Israel, denouncing “the crimes Israel is committing in Gaza.” It does not mention the Hamas terror group.

The site also calls for an end to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which Blake says is being fought on behalf of the Jewish state. The Trump administration has repeatedly rejected that characterization, asserting that where the nations’ interests diverge, American interests will be pursued, even at Israel’s expense.

Blake kicked off his campaign in 2025 with a launch video assailing Torres for taking donations from AIPAC. The video included an influencer who justified the killing of two Israeli embassy workers near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, last year.

After backlash, Blake called the influencer’s inclusion “a miss,” removing the video and replacing it with a version without him.

Torres is overwhelmingly favored to defeat Blake, with local outlet City and State placing the odds at 98%-2%, in the incumbent’s favor.