Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat, encouraged Jewish voters on Sunday to put aside concerns about their safety “in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity,” in a stark reference to the choices facing Jewish Democrats in the closely contested Senate election this November.

“We have a moral imperative to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest and, yes, even our own survival,” Nessel told attendees in her remarks at the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus’ annual “Summer Simcha” gathering, where she was honored, according to reports confirmed by Jewish Insider.

Nessel’s comments did not explicitly refer to Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee who has faced profound skepticism from Jewish Democrats over his hostile rhetoric toward Israel as well as his equivocal response to a violent terrorist attack on a synagogue outside Detroit in March.

But her plea to attendees suggested she was moving toward voting for El-Sayed, who also appeared at the event on Sunday to apologize for his initial comments on the synagogue attack in which he had claimed that “hurt people hurt people” and “violence is a cycle,” in remarks that were widely seen as insensitive to Jewish safety.

El-Sayed voiced regret for those remarks on Sunday, asking the caucus members “for forgiveness and a moment of grace” for what he called an ill-timed response. He also clarified that there was “an opportunity for context later on,” a sentiment that some voters found offensive in light of the attack, which had been perpetrated by a Lebanese American man who has lost relatives in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including a brother who was a Hezbollah commander.

Nessel has been among the most high-profile Jewish Democrats in Michigan to withhold an endorsement of El-Sayed, whose response to the synagogue attack she had criticized in a podcast interview last week as “making excuses” for domestic terrorism that raised questions about how he would respond to other potential acts of violence. 

Despite her reservations with El-Sayed, Nessel has also clarified that, unlike some Jewish Democrats in the state, she will not back former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP nominee now aggressively courting Jewish voters who could help decide the election in a key battleground state.

In her speech on Sunday, Nessel alluded to Queen Esther, the biblical heroine of the Jewish holiday of Purim, in a dramatic illustration of the high stakes of the race. 

“It is perhaps up to us now to follow in her path,” Nessel said, “and sacrifice the comfort, safety and security and even the very future of our own people in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity.” (In the Purim story, however, Queen Esther risked her own life to save the Jews rather than putting aside Jewish safety for a supposed greater good.)

She suggested the election hinged on more than just Israel, whose existence as a Jewish state El-Sayed has refused to acknowledge. “What good is defending the historic homeland of our ancestors and demanding that candidates acknowledge its right to exist, if the planet upon which it rests is no longer inhabitable?” she said to attendees at the event in Birmingham on Sunday.

“Come November, what do your Jewish values tell you to do?” Nessel asked, arguing against voting to empower Republicans when other urgent factors are also at play that go beyond Israel as well as the Jewish community.

One Jewish caucus leader who has spoken privately with Nessel said her remarks “certainly suggest” she will vote for El-Sayed even if she has not offered her endorsement.

“I think there is a difference between holding your nose and voting for someone and endorsing and I think she appreciates the distinction,” the caucus leader told JI, speaking anonymously to discuss a sensitive subject.

Joan Lowenstein, a Jewish caucus member, told JI after the event on Sunday that “the people who will vote for El-Sayed agree with” Nessel’s comments to the crowd.

“Many do not agree and don’t want to turn their backs on Jewish life in the U.S. or in Israel so that we can have a Democratic Senate,” she said, adding that “even though many of us disagree with each other, we respect the validity of these views.”