David Orkin
D · New York State Assembly, District 38 · Tier 6
Tier 6, “Most critical of Israel / supports Palestine”
Won the June 2026 AD-38 (Queens) primary 58.8–40.9% over incumbent Jenifer Rajkumar — effectively member-elect in the deep-blue seat. Jewish democratic socialist, immigration attorney at Make the Road NY, and a founder of the Tucson, AZ chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. JFREJ- and DSA-endorsed. “Even though I’m Jewish, I’ve spent my entire adult life acting in solidarity with Palestine.” He uses ‘genocide’ for Gaza (documented April 2026). Orkin was among those arrested at the Jewish Voice for Peace sit-in outside the UN during Netanyahu’s Sep 24, 2026 address.
A 6: explicit anti-Zionist self-ID — the strongest position at the critical end. An ‘anti-Zionist Jew’ in his own words (‘running this race as an anti-Zionist Jew… one of the few anti-Zionist Jewish voices’ in elected office), JVP chapter founder who works to build ‘religious spaces outside of Zionism’ and calls out the conflation of Judaism and Zionism. That first-person self-ID questions Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish state even without a BDS endorsement, so a clean 6; his thinner record on specific measures such as an embargo doesn’t bear on it, since measures go to Israel’s conduct, not its legitimacy.
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elect26 places 2026 midterm candidates on a six-tier spectrum, from 1 (most pro-Israel) to 6 (most critical of Israel).