Michigan Republican El-Sayed Apologizes to Jewish Democrats Over Antisemitic Statement
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The race otherwise progressed on Saturday as el Sayed apologized to a group of Jewish Democrats for a controversial statement he made in the spring in response to an antisemitic attack at a Michigan synagogue. He has come under fire throughout the summer for his anti-Israel views and ties to internet personality Hasan Piker, who has said America deserved the September 11th attacks.
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Fox NewsEl-Sayed appeared to distance himself from Piker, telling the Michigan Advance that "nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople" as he faced criticism over his association with the Twitch streamer.
The AtlanticAlthough El-Sayed has never said anything nearly as inflammatory as the sorts of comments Piker makes routinely, his mixture of anti-Zionism and populism treats pro-Israel activism as a nefarious and all-pervasive force. He has denied that any Democrat who believes in human rights could have any motive other than money for holding a position on Israel different from the one he prefers. El-Sayed tends to depict nearly all opposition to his candidacy as financially driven, but when applied to Jewish political activity, this charge becomes even more conspiratorial.
ABC NewsEl-Sayed’s apology was his latest attempt to unify Democrats after a bitter primary where he defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens. He’s eager to push past a series of controversies involving allegations of antisemitism, including his association with controversial commentator Hasan Piker. He faces Republican nominee Mike Rogers in a race that will help determine control of the Senate.
HuffPostEl-Sayed’s apology was his latest attempt to unify Democrats after a bitter primary where he defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens. He’s eager to push past a series of controversies involving allegations of antisemitism, including his association with controversial commentator Hasan Piker. He faces Republican nominee Mike Rogers in a race that will help determine control of the Senate.
The HillEl-Sayed apologizes to Jewish Democrats for synagogue attack comment Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed apologized Saturday for comments he made following an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue earlier this year, as he seeks to ease concerns among Jewish voters ahead of the November election. “I made a mistake,” El-Sayed said during an appearance before the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus at the state party’s…
New York TimesEl-Sayed Apologizes for March Comment About Michigan Synagogue Attack Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, faced criticism from Jewish Democrats after remarking, “hurt people hurt people.”
BreitbartMichigan’s leftist U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed (D) responded to Nessel’s decision not to attend the convention, Breitbart News reported August 5.
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Dana Nessel, the state’s attorney general, has faced anti-Semitic harassment and has said that she plans to skip the state party’s August convention rather than endure more abuse. At the party’s April nominating caucus, Mallory McMorrow, a then-candidate for Senate, reported that her Jewish husband was subjected to an anti-Semitic slur. On the weekend before the primary, Walter Masterson, a left-wing streamer who has appeared with El-Sayed, disrupted an event for Haley Stevens, El-Sayed’s pro-Israel opponent in the Democratic primary, forcing the brewery hosting it to cancel the event. El-Sayed did not condemn the bully-boy tactics used on his behalf.
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Fox NewsDemocratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, recently announced she wouldn't attend the confab due to security concerns, after anti-Israel party activists shouted down pro-Israel speakers, including Rep. Haley Stevens, at a prior convention in April.
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This weekend's convention comes as a growing number of Democrats push for cutting military aid to Israel, amidst the Israeli government's ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
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BreitbartThe Fox article said leftist activists within the party shouted down pro-Israel speakers at a convention in the spring, and more Democrats want the U.S. to cut military aid to Israel as it fights violent Hamas terrorists.
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Some Jewish leaders in Michigan are encouraging Jewish Democrats and independents to support former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), who is running against El-Sayed, Breitbart News reported August 20.
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Fox NewsThe convention is being held as some Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the state to sign their names in support of Rogers. The news was first reported last week by the Jewish Insider and confirmed by Fox News Digital.
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In March, a man attacked Temple Israel synagogue in a Detroit suburb, ramming his car into the building and opening fire on a security guard before dying by suicide. The man, Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, had lost four relatives in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon the week prior.
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HuffPostIn March, a man attacked Temple Israel synagogue in a Detroit suburb, ramming his car into the building and opening fire on a security guard before dying by suicide. The man, Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, had lost four relatives in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon the week prior.
Washington ExaminerGunman Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drove through the halls of the synagogue with several explosives and a rifle in his vehicle before being killed in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement on March 12. No one was hurt in the incident, including children attending the synagogue’s early childhood development program, which was in class that morning. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) later said the attack “was antisemitic” and stemmed from “hate, plain and simple.”
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 RealClearPolitics Democrats' House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and adviser has led to a political firestorm across social media.
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02 Fox News "We’re in the state of Michigan. If you want to make this race about a streamer in California, I just think you’re missing the boat," El-Sayed told reporters. "This is about affordability in Michigan. This is about seeing a doctor in Michigan. This is about Donald Trump’s disastrous policies in Michigan. That’s what I’m focused on right now."
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03 Breitbart “People are traumatized from the previous convention. Many people I talked to, many super progressive people, are really traumatized by the way they were treated, and the way Haley Stevens was booed, and the way other candidates were treated,” Rabbi Asher Lopatin told Fox News Digital last week.
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04 The Atlantic Most Democrats followed El-Sayed’s line that Piker was irrelevant. “This election is about what’s going to happen when we elect Abdul to the United States Senate. I am done, so don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker. It’s not what November is about,” Representative Debbie Dingell said at a rally for El-Sayed.
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05 Vox The line was a reference to reporting on Trump’s catering-cart maneuver as he was flying back from Turkey in July; Harp and other Trump aides joined the president on an alternate plane by way of a catering cart, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio was left behind on Air Force One.
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06 Washington Examiner Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers released a new advertisement on Saturday criticizing his Democratic opponent Abdul el Sayed for past comments he has made about football.
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