Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed told ABC News this week that he does not consider Israel an ally of the United States, his strongest statement yet on an issue that has drawn criticism and could affect his support among Jewish voters. It’s like, I mean, do you have kids?” El-Sayed replied when asked by ABC News anchor Linsey Davis whether he viewed Israel as an American ally. The remarks came a week after El-Sayed told MS NOW that the Israeli government had used the United States and done terrible things with American money.
In an earlier debate, he declined to say whether Israel or Iran posed a greater threat to the United States. El-Sayed's views on Israel have drawn scrutiny since before he won the Democratic nomination in August, defeating U.S. Representative Haley Stevens in a race where AIPAC and its affiliated groups spent nearly $30 million trying to stop him.
His description of Israel's war in Gaza as a "genocide" and his association with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker have also given Republican nominee Mike Rogers material for attacks, including accusations related to antisemitism. The question now is whether El-Sayed's increasingly blunt comments on Israel will cost him support among Jewish voters in a close race where every vote could matter. The ABC interview drew swift criticism online.
Joe Walsh, former Republican congressman from Illinois who later became a Democrat, wrote that anyone who does not consider Israel a U.S. ally does not "belong in the U.S. Senate." Activist and writer Amy Siskind suggested this week that El-Sayed's campaign may be betting it can win without the support of most Jewish voters. Michigan's electoral demographics suggest that strategy could work.
The state has roughly twice as many registered Muslim voters as Jewish voters. Many Muslim voters backed Green Party candidate Jill Stein or President Donald Trump in 2024, while others stayed home. If El-Sayed can win more of those voters back, their support could offset losses among Jewish Democrats.
Newsweek reached out to El-Sayed and Rogers campaigns for comment Tuesday. The Muslim voter advocacy group Emgage estimates there are more than 200,000 registered Muslim voters in Michigan. By comparison, Michigan is home to roughly 105,000 Jewish adults, about 1.4 percent of the state's electorate, according to the American Jewish Population Project at Brandeis University.
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