Noah Arbit, a rising Jewish Democrat in Michigan’s state Legislature, has been a vocal critic of Abdul El-Sayed, a fellow Democrat whose Senate campaign in the key battleground state has exposed deep divisions within the Jewish community.

But until now, Arbit had not yet publicly clarified if he is willing to set aside his differences and endorse El-Sayed, like some prominent Jewish Democrats in the state who have recently announced their support despite reservations with his hostile stances on Israel and approach to countering antisemitism.

In an interview with Jewish Insider on Monday, Arbit, 31, confirmed that he would not be endorsing El-Sayed, pointing to what he called the nominee’s promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories and affiliations with extremist figures on the far left, among other issues he cast as deal-breakers in the closely contested race.

“At the very least,” El-Sayed “aligns himself with people who want to purge the Democratic Party and American life of Zionists and, therefore, most Jews,” Arbit said. “That is unacceptable.”

Asked if he believed El-Sayed himself is antisemitic, Arbit referenced a fiery speech he had delivered last week on the floor of the state House in which he had argued there was no longer a meaningful distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Jewish prejudice at a moment when “the logical leap to justifying violence against Israelis and all Jews becomes so tiny as to be invisible.”

“The definition of antisemitism as just a shorthand for hating Jews is useless because you don’t have to hate Jews to be a vector for conspiracy theories,” he told JI. “I think it’s very, very clear that the fulcrum of Abdul’s campaign was an antisemitic conspiracy about AIPAC being the No. 1 obstacle toward universal healthcare, better schools and better roads in Michigan and in America.”

“It’s just a dog whistle,” Arbit said of El-Sayed’s demonization of AIPAC, the pro-Israel group that spent more than $30 million opposing his primary campaign and is now backing his rival, former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers. “It is a neat, clever argument. You take an unpopular policy and you say this is the reason why you don’t have nice things. It is the demagogue’s oldest trick in the book.”

While Arbit declined to share how he will vote in the November election, which could help decide control of the Senate, he strongly suggested he would not be casting a ballot either for El-Sayed or Rogers, calling both candidates “unacceptable options for Michigan” who “threaten” his constituents. “That,” he said, “is a tragic place to be.”

“I feel that it is a moral question for each voter to answer as to who is frankly less threatening to them,” said Arbit, who on Monday joined the Nonnegotiable Michigan campaign laying out a series of demands to El-Sayed related to Jewish safety and Israel’s right to exist. “For me personally,” Arbit noted, “I don’t know how to choose between” El-Sayed and Rogers, whom he condemned as a “bootlicker” for President Donald Trump.

His struggle to reckon with a polarizing election reflects the difficult choices and sense of alienation now facing many Jewish Democrats in the state who have begun to question their place in a party to which they have long been loyal.

“We have a group text with a number of Jewish Democratic elected officials where it’s basically one long commiseration session about everything going on,” Arbit said. “How we feel under siege and under assault by people we consider friends and ideological allies and basically watching the radicalization of our party.”

“It’s a very difficult position to be in as a liberal Jewish Democrat,” he explained.

With just over a month until the general election, Arbit stands out as one of the most prominent Jewish Democrats withholding support for El-Sayed, even as the Democratic nominee has ramped up his efforts to mend fences with skeptical Jewish voters who remain uncomfortable with his views and feel he has not fully addressed their concerns. 

Even though El-Sayed has condemned antisemitism while pledging his commitment to Jewish safety, his uncompromising stances on Israel have continued to raise questions among critics. He has also faced some scrutiny from Jewish Democrats who have cast doubt on the sincerity of his recent apology for equivocating over the attack in March against a synagogue in West Bloomfield, a heavily Jewish Detroit suburb in Arbit’s legislative district.

Despite his criticism of El-Sayed, Arbit, who is running for reelection this cycle, said he believed the Democratic nominee will claim victory in the Senate contest. But while Arbit predicted he himself would “probably win West Bloomfield by double digits,” he envisioned El-Sayed prevailing in the community by just a couple of points, “if he wins” the area at all.

“I think that there is going to be a massive underperformance by him in communities he hasn’t entirely successfully worked to feel comfortable with his candidacy,” Arbit elaborated, pointing to what he characterized as “an unwillingness to be accountable for your statements and actions.”

“Abdul consistently judges pro-Israel Jews in Michigan, and the entire Zionist movement, by Israel’s most extremist elements, such as [Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich,” Arbit said, referring to far-right ministers in Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition, “yet gets very indignant when people judge him by the most extreme statements of Hasan Piker,” a Twitch streamer who has espoused antisemitic rhetoric and with whom El-Sayed campaigned during the primary.  

“I have a huge problem with that hypocrisy,” Arbit added. “Should you judge a movement by its fringes or shouldn’t you? Which is it?”

Arbit, who has long warned of antisemitism in his party, said he did not judge Jewish Democrats who have recently backed El-Sayed — such as Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, who had voiced strong reservations with his candidacy before endorsing him last week. 

“I empathize tremendously with people in the Jewish community,” he said, while acknowledging that there are many voters in the state who “simply do not want to risk a Republican Senate” and have been weighing the contest accordingly. “Every vote is like comparing apples and oranges,” he noted. “Everyone is weighing different factors.”

Arbit said he sat down with El-Sayed after he had won the Aug. 4 primary and “explained to him very earnestly” about his upbringing and “understanding of Zionism.” 

He said it had been “framed by the understanding that minority groups are only safe under conditions of democracy, freedom and the rule of law, and also how that understanding really led to my empathy for Palestinians and their dispossession in 1948,” which had led him to believe that “the best way to right that is a two-state solution.”

It was challenging to find common ground, he said. “I think it’s very difficult because he won’t even commit to a two-state solution, where one of those two states is Jewish,” Arbit explained. “We have fundamentally different positions on that.”

Still, he credited El-Sayed for speaking with him in spite of their profound disagreements. “I’ve obviously criticized him publicly,” he told JI. “I think that it is a sign of a mature leader for someone who is willing to have a conversation with people who don’t agree with them.”

“If Abdul wins,” he told JI, “my constituents will be his constituents, and it’ll be up to him to demonstrate he is also representing all people in West Bloomfield — including the Jewish community — with faith and fidelity. That is a challenge that I would put to him.”

For his part, Arbit said his own mission is “to put sand in the gears of both the far right and the far left.” His floor speech last week was born out of rising frustration with what he characterized as a growing radicalization on the far left after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in Israel. “This conflict has colored my entire tenure,” he told JI, “because I took office in January 2023.”

“I think that most criticism of Israel these days is not just about Israel’s policies, but is calling into question the very foundation of the state,” he said. The far left, he argued, has “no agenda to improve the rights and lives of Palestinians. It is all about hating Israel, and that is what makes this movement so vacuous and so dangerous.”

With regard to El-Sayed’s potential elevation to the Senate, Arbit clarified that he was “not really worried about” Israel’s future. “I’m worried about the climate for Jews in in Michigan and in the Democratic Party.” 

“This is an incredibly obviously uncomfortable time to be a liberal Zionist Democrat,” Arbit told JI. “We are about to find out whether there is enough space in the party for those of us who are good Democrats but also are unwilling to relinquish our connections and commitments to our homeland — to Israel.”

Democratic Michigan state Rep. Noah Arbit and 15 other Democratic leaders on Tuesday joined the Nonnegotiable Michigan campaign that is laying out a series of demands for the state’s Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, related to Jewish safety and Israel’s right to exist.

Arbit, one of the most vocal and visible Jewish elected officials in the state, has been outspoken in his concerns about El-Sayed, condemning as “tokenism” the Senate candidate’s Rosh Hashanah video with two Jewish women affiliated with the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace, and condemning El-Sayed ally Hasan Piker as a “fascist” and “dumb and brain-rotted.”

The campaign has called on El-Sayed and other Democratic leaders to affirm commitments to Jewish safety, including that of Zionist Jews; to the right of Jews to define their own identities; to the Jewish right to sovereignty in Israel; to the right of all Jews, including Zionists, to full participation in the American political process; and to “an affirmative vision for a better future for the Middle East.”

In addition to Arbit, who also founded the Michigan Democratic Jewish caucus, several current former public officials joined the effort, including former state Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton; University of Michigan Regent Mark Bernstein, who also previously chaired the state civil rights commission and led Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s transition office; West Bloomfield Township Clerk Debbie Binder, township Supervisor Jonathan Warshay and township Treasurer Teri Weingarden; Clawson City Council Member Adam Duberstein; Madison Heights Council Member Sean Fleming; and former Keego Harbor Mayor Rob Kalman.

Several other Jewish and Democratic leaders also joined the effort including Joan Lowenstein, a member of the Michigan Democratic Party Central Committee and president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor; Ron Lippitt, an officer-at-large for the Oakland County Democrats; and David Lauer, Cindy Bank, Michelle Serlin, Michelle Miletic and Yehudis Brea, all board members of the Michigan Jewish Democratic Caucus.

David Kramer, the vice chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus and prominent Democratic fundraiser in the state, announced that he was joining the Nonnegotiable campaign last week and that he is not, at this point, prepared to support El-Sayed without his commitment to the demands laid out by the Nonnegotiable campaign.

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan running in the race’s far-left lane, on Sunday described Israel as a “rogue state” that has committed genocide and apartheid. El-Sayed made the comments in an interview with Manu Raju on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday.”

Asked whether he thought the Israeli government should be considered by the U.S. to be a foreign terrorist organization, El-Sayed answered, “It’s certainly a rogue state.” 

“I mean, they did a genocide,” he continued. “What about doing a genocide is not evil in your book? At baseline they do apartheid.”

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan running in the race’s far-left lane, on Sunday described Israel as a “rogue state” that has committed genocide and apartheid.@HaleyCohen19 reports: https://t.co/9BELSWPMXQ pic.twitter.com/vSYVTTRZJZ

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) July 12, 2026

El-Sayed’s comments come as Michigan’s heated Democratic Senate primary enters its final stretch. He is facing off in the Aug. 4 primary against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) — a moderate lawmaker who has been supported by AIPAC and pro-Israel donors.

Last week, El-Sayed told CNN that he did not believe that a Democratic politician’s support for Israel could be about anything other than money. Earlier in the race, El-Sayed said he struggled to answer questions about whether he believed Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state and that he believed the Israeli government was just as “evil” as Hamas.

Abdul El-Sayed, the far-left Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, suggested at an event on Friday that the Trump administration had indicted a group of anti-Israel demonstrators at the University of Michigan for their beliefs, rather than their actions.

The eight defendants, including a former staffer on El-Sayed’s campaign, who were indicted Friday have been accused of a campaign of intimidation against university officials they saw as pro-Israel and vandalism of local Jewish organizations.

“It’s a lot more about what you’re advocating for that gets you indicted or not indicted, rather than what you did,” El-Sayed said, at a Friday campaign event, according to The Detroit News.

Speaking to reporters after the event, El-Sayed said that it’s “just wrong, full stop” to target families, businesses and property as the indicted individuals alleged did, but also drew a contrast between the treatment of the eight indicted individuals and the Trump administration’s mass pardon of those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“I believe in justice, because I believe that when you break the law, you should be held accountable, but I don’t love watching our justice system treat people differently based on what it is that they were advocating for,” El-Sayed said. “Targeting people, families, properties, businesses is wrong, of course it’s wrong, but it’s also wrong when Jan. 6 terrorists do it. To watch the same Trump administration use these terms in certain ways — I think we all need to be asking the questions.”

El-Sayed previously faced criticism for his response to the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., which some saw as excusing or rationalizing the attack.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) on X condemned El-Sayed for his “equivocation.”

“The reported planned violence and intimidation at the University of Michigan is wrong. This is simple and any leader should be able to say so,” she said. “The fact my opponent cannot bring himself to say that is concerning.”

In remarks to reporters, she said that she was “concerned about [El-Sayed’s] repeated patterns of embracing political violence and being out of step with Michigan voters,” pointing also to his decision to rally with far-left influencer Hasan Piker at the University of Michigan.

“We need leaders who are going to showcase leadership and be the leaders that we deserve, not continue to divide us and compensate for when people commit violence or threaten violence for political purposes,” she said.

Her comments have prompted scorn from El-Sayed’s campaign and allies.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) responded to Stevens’ X post by copying Stevens’ wording to criticize Stevens for refusing to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide.

Roxie Richner, El-Sayed’s communications director, accused Stevens on X of “sid[ing] with the Trump administration” and said she “can’t string two coherent sentences together.”

“Leadership requires that you have moral clarity and can say words that make sense when put in order,” Richner continued.

One of the eight anti-Israel activists indicted on Wednesday over allegedly threatening University of Michigan officials seen as pro-Israel and vandalizing local Jewish organizations was on the staff of far-left U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as recently as April.

The federal indictment lists Mariam Odeh, 24, of Dearborn, Mich., as one of the defendants who allegedly carried out a series of coordinated actions targeting university leaders or organizations with connections to Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks. 

On the one-year anniversary of the attacks, they vandalized Detroit’s Jewish federation building and spray-painted businesses, with words including “intifada,” according to the indictment.  

The defendants also forcibly entered and occupied university buildings, defaced property and disrupted campus events — and placed fake bloody corpses outside the homes of multiple university leaders, including then-President Santa Ono, over their perceived support for Israel. 

According to a statement in the indictment from Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, the perpetrators — while masked and hooded — “allegedly threw noxious chemicals through the windows of families’ homes and taped demand letters to their front doors” and also “discussed methods by which to harm the targets and their families, including poison, bombs, and psychological torture.”  

Odeh, who is listed in the indictment as president of the organization Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, was paid $154 by El-Sayed’s campaign on March 3 and $593 on March 13, according to fundraising disclosures first obtained by The Detroit News, which reported that the payments were described as salary disbursements. 

El-Sayed’s spokesperson, Roxie Richner, told the paper that Odeh was an hourly employee on the campaign for two weeks and has not been affiliated with it since April 15. Odeh was charged with one count of conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate and foreign commerce, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. 

El-Sayed is one of three candidates in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, alongside Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

Seen as the most progressive candidate in the race, El-Sayed told Jewish supporters last month that he struggles to answer whether he believes Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. He said in an interview with CNN in April that he believes the Israeli government is just as evil as Hamas.

A spokesperson for Rep. Stevens’ campaign, Arik Wolk, told JI on Thursday, “Haley condemns all forms of hate and political violence…antisemitism and political intimidation — especially violence that seeks to silence the voices of others — has no place in Michigan.”

Neither El-Sayed’s nor McMorrow’s campaigns responded to requests for comment from JI about the indictment or about Odeh’s employment on the campaign.

Abdul El-Sayed, the far-left Democratic candidate for Michigan’s Senate seat, said at an event with Jewish supporters last week that he struggles to answer questions about whether he believes Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state.

At his “Jews for Abdul” event last week in Pontiac, Mich., a recording of which was obtained by Jewish Insider, El-Sayed, in response to a question from an audience member about him sidestepping inquiries about Israel’s right to exist, said, “I often struggle with the question that people ask in this particular scenario, because what they now ask is, ‘Do you believe in the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state,’ which, to me, forces the question of a definition of what a Jewish state means.”

SCOOP | Abdul El-Sayed, the far-left Democratic candidate for Michigan’s Senate seat, said at an event with Jewish supporters last week that he struggles to answer questions about whether he believes Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state.

“I often struggle with the… pic.twitter.com/ugjbXgxUvr

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) May 27, 2026

El-Sayed continued: “I need folks who want to ask me that question [to explain] what it is that they mean by that, and how that is consistent with any form of liberal values that we say we believe in here in the United States.”

He accused Israel of “bypassing” the issue of Palestinian rights and maintaining a Jewish majority in Israel by implementing apartheid in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, and said that the question of Israel’s right to exist overlooks “the rights of people who’ve been displaced by Israeli action” dating back to 1948.

He said that U.S. support is “funding leadership” in Israel that is opposed to a two-state solution while Palestinians do not have a voice in that conversation, and said “it’s not actually our job to decide what the peace looks like there.” 

“[Israel] exists as it stands, but nobody ever asked me about the right of Palestine to exist, because it doesn’t exist. And so I just push back on the characterization here,” El-Sayed said. 

MORE EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Abdul El-Sayed says “I need folks who want to ask me that question [to explain] what it is that they mean by that, and how that is consistent with any form of liberal values that we say we believe in here in the United States.”

Read more:… pic.twitter.com/8kaWUqwYCK

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) May 27, 2026

El-Sayed’s candidacy, positions and affiliations — particularly his campaigning with streamer Hasan Piker, who has repeatedly shared antisemitic sentiments and support for terrorism — has drawn concern from the sizable Jewish community in Michigan and nationally.

Photos from the event shared by El-Sayed’s campaign appear to show around a few dozen people in the audience, at least one of whom — who raised the question about Israel’s right to exist — said she was not Jewish.

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📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The gunman who attacked the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, Cole Tomas Allen, was arraigned in Washington this afternoon. He is being charged with transportation of a firearm between states, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, which carries a potential life sentence. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine said Allen, 31, had “a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol and … three knives and other dangerous paraphernalia” during the attack. He will remain in detention with another hearing scheduled for Thursday…

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump met with his national security team this morning where they discussed Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which reportedly includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz but postponing talks on the country’s nuclear program…

German Chancellor ‌Friedrich Merz said the U.S. is “being humiliated” by Iranian leaders after negotiations between the two countries this weekend were called off.

“The Iranians are obviously very skilled ⁠at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Merz told a group of students. The result is “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards,” he added…

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised how “courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence” in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today in St. Petersburg. Araghchi thanked Russia for standing by its side and said the countries will continue their “strategic partnership”…

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said today that the terror group will not disarm, despite the Lebanese government’s intent to remove the group from power in the south of the country under the terms of the ongoing ceasefire with Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire throughout the ceasefire, including a wave of Israeli airstrikes today in response to Hezbollah’s deadly drone attack that killed an IDF soldier and wounded six yesterday… 

New Department of Homeland Security training materials allow green card applicants to be denied for antisemitic and anti-Israel social media posts and activism, as well as anti-American activism, The New York Times reports. The documents, distributed to immigration officers last month, cite “as an example of questionable speech a social media post that declares, ‘Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine’ and shows the Israeli flag crossed out”…

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha summoned Israel’s ambassador to the country to protest the arrival of a ship allegedly carrying grain taken from Russian-occupied Ukraine at Israel’s Haifa Port, Sybiha said on X. Sybiha also denounced Israel’s “lack of appropriate response to Ukraine’s legitimate request” regarding a similar vessel that docked in Haifa last week.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed Sybiha for his announcement: “Diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media,” Sa’ar wrote. He said that “evidence substantiating [Ukraine’s] allegations have yet to be provided” and that “the matter will be examined”…

Several pro-Israel House Democrats in Florida could lose their seats after Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a new congressional map that eliminates their districts — state lawmakers are expected to approve the map for use in this year’s midterm elections at a special session of the state Legislature tomorrow.

The new map could give the GOP up to four additional House seats by redrawing Democratic-leaning districts, including those of Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL)…

Claims by New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy that the Gazan hospital where he volunteered as a trauma surgeon in 2024 during Israel’s war with Hamas was a “completely benign civilian hospital with no tunnels underneath it” are false, The Washington Free Beacon reports.

While Hamawy claimed in an interview shortly after he returned that “there were definitely no tunnels underground and no command base there,” Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed a year later “in a tunnel directly under the hospital emergency department, where he was leading a high-level meeting with senior Hamas terrorists,” the Free Beacon writes…

All five of Pennsylvania’s living former governors, both Democrats and Republicans, released a statement today calling on state officials to prioritize the safety and security of Gov. Josh Shapiro, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

The letter came days after state Treasurer Stacy Garrity — Shapiro’s leading Republican opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race — said the state will not pay for security upgrades made to Shapiro’s privately owned family residence, done after the state-owned governor’s mansion was targeted in an antisemitic arson attack last spring…

The New York Times chronicles Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s turn away from the Democratic Party and increasing political involvement, including against the proposed “billionaire tax” in his home state of California.

“I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union. I don’t want California to end up in the same place,” Brin told the Times. Brin, who is Jewish, has also been disturbed by the Democratic Party’s leftward shift on Israel policy…

Toronto-based Jewish advocate Adam Hummel argues in the “Boundless Insights” Substack that “anti-Zionism” is an obsolete position, given the 78-year-old existence of the State of Israel. 

“Israelis don’t owe anyone an argument for their existence. …  The debate is over, not because one side won, but because the thing itself came into being. They are a people. They speak a language. They live on a piece of land and have mortgages. That is what peoples do. The Greeks do it. The Poles do it. The Québécois do it. The arguments about whether they should are, at this point, a leisure activity for people who live elsewhere”…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a profile of Keith Sonderling, the acting secretary of labor, who is Jewish and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, following the resignation of Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

The Zionist Rabbinic Coalition will present its first “Pillar of Zion” award to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) at the organization’s fifth annual National Conference in Washington. Other speakers at the three-day conference will include Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; State Department antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun; Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon; and Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Talks between Israel and Lebanon, which are currently underway, were moved from the State Department to the White House. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were spotted arriving there together this afternoon, and a White House official told Jewish Insider that President Donald Trump would greet the participants at the opening of the discussion…

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who returned to Washington in order to participate in the talks, also stopped by Capitol Hill where he met with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)…

While the bombing campaign in Iran is on pause, the battle at sea continues: U.S. forces boarded another vessel carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean this morning and Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill any boat” placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz — just as a third U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in the region…

Trump also said Iran is “having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is,” indicating the regime may still be struggling to present the U.S. with a unified proposal. “The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!),” he claimed.

In response, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, both considered relative moderates, issued nearly identical statements on X pledging “complete obedience to the Supreme Leader”…

Iranian officials tell The New York Times their new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive but injured, and so far ruling differently than his late father; the younger Khamenei is relying on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders to provide him advice to make decisions “as though he is the director of the board.” 

Khamenei’s injuries are extensive and he is largely inaccessible in person: “One leg was operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic. He had surgery on one hand and is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak, the officials said, adding that, eventually, he will need plastic surgery”…

U.S. officials are expressing concern over the military’s ability to defend Taiwan from China in the near future should the need arise, given that the U.S. has burned through more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles and more than 1,500 air-defense missiles in the course of the war with Iran so far, supplies that could take up to six years to replace…

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar named Israel’s first Christian ambassador, George Deek, as the country’s special envoy to the Christian world, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports, after several recent controversies in Israel relating to Christians. Deek is part of the Arab Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa…

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined other Michigan Democrats in denouncing Amir Makled, a Democratic nominee for regent of the University of Michigan, over Makled’s past comments expressing antisemitic sentiments and support for terrorism.

“I’m going to have a problem with any candidate — Democrat, Republican or independent — who shares antisemitic and hateful posts on social media. Especially when they refuse to disavow those comments or show remorse,” Slotkin said in a statement to JI’s Marc Rod, in response to a question about Makled…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give advance notice to senior Republican senators before announcing yesterday that he was firing Navy Secretary John Phelan, causing surprise and confusion on Capitol Hill. “I found out about it the way everybody else did,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod of the Pentagon’s announcement on social media of Phelan’s dismissal.

Trump praised Phelan in a post on Truth Social this afternoon and said he’d “certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future” — Phelan had reportedly bumped heads with Hegseth but had a close relationship with the president…

Nearly half of young American adults view Israel as a burden to the United States, according to a new Harvard Youth Poll of 18- to 29-year-olds. The survey found that 46% of young Americans consider Israel to be mostly a burden to the U.S., compared to just 16% who say Israel is mostly a benefit, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.

In addition, Ukraine, which has also received U.S. support in its lengthy war with Russia, was also determined to be more of a burden by young Americans — 31% of respondents said Ukraine is mostly a burden, while 21% said it is mostly a benefit…

The Wall Street Journal‘s Matthew Hennessey issued a defense of Elliot Kaufman, a member of the Journal‘s editorial board, after Trump slammed him on Truth Social as an “idiot” and a “moron.”

“What triggered the president’s ire was an op-ed under Mr. Kaufman’s byline headlined ‘The Iranians Take Trump for a Sucker.’ That’s a provocative title, yes, but the piece delivers on the provocation. Mr. Kaufman wasn’t calling Mr. Trump a sucker; he was merely pointing out that the Iranians are acting like they think he is one. The piece offers plenty of recent evidence to support that claim,” Hennessey wrote…

American journalist Shelly Kittleson details in The Atlantic her experience being kidnapped and held hostage by the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah terror group in Iraq for nine days earlier this month…

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who stepped down last month, is returning to Joshua Kushner’s venture firm, Thrive Capital, in an advisory role…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) as he introduces a buffer zone bill in Congress, which follows legislation under consideration in New York and elsewhere, aiming to protect attendees at houses of worship.

Washington is abuzz ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, being held at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. The event will be headlined by American Israeli mentalist Oz Pearlman and attended by Trump for his first time as president, alongside celebrities (including Trump fan Nicki Minaj), politicians and media figures. Politicos and reporters will schmooze at events beginning this evening through Sunday morning.

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

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SHAPIRO SPOTLIGHT

Josh Shapiro supports U.S. aid to Israel, but calls to use it as leverage

In an interview with JI, Shapiro said he ‘[hasn’t] really thought about’ whether he would appear on Hasan Piker’s stream but that he hasn’t been invited

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DEFINITION DEBATE

Mamdani won’t set definition of antisemitism after repealing IHRA, his antisemitism czar says

In testimony before the City Council’s antisemitism task force, an NYPD official said Mamdani played no role in a controversial change in reporting data from hate crimes

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This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained this afternoon that President Donald Trump is “generously offering a bit of flexibility” to Iranian leaders and has not given them a “firm deadline” to provide a proposal to the U.S., contrary to reports that said Trump only intended to wait a few days before ending the ceasefire that he extended yesterday.

Leavitt also said the president did not view Iran’s seizure of two ships near the Strait of Hormuz today as a violation of the ceasefire: “These were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships,” she said — a change in tone for Trump, who has taken a hardline against Tehran’s escalatory actions in the key waterway.

Meanwhile, mediating countries are reportedly working to get Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table, with a meeting possibly on Friday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran “has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so,” but that “breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacles” to continuing talks…

Even as negotiations to end the war are still in flux, Trump thanked Iran for granting his request not to execute eight women who were reportedly due to be killed by the regime tonight, instead releasing four of them and holding the other four in jail for one month…

The Financial Times profiles Pakistani army chief Asim Munir as he emerges as an unexpected key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, utilizing his ties to Tehran’s security establishment — including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — and personal rapport with Trump to help secure a comprehensive deal… 

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is keeping the door open to a possible 2028 presidential run, saying “only the good Lord knows” what comes next as he continues to reestablish himself in the private sector and policy world after serving in the first Trump administration. 

In a wide-ranging interview with Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs, Pompeo also praised Columbia University, where he now teaches at the School of International and Public Affairs, for “beg[inning] to get back the correct leadership … in a way where more voices can be heard”…

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack stood by his comments that drew criticism over the weekend in which he repeatedly criticized Israel and praised Turkey, saying he was merely “stating the obvious.” 

“When I described the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire as a ‘time out’ and said that ‘everybody has been equally untrustworthy,’ I was simply stating the obvious reality on the ground. This is realism, not criticism of any side,” Barrack told Fox News Digital. He also reaffirmed his comments that the goal in Lebanon is “not killing Hezbollah,” and that Turkey should be readmitted to the F-35 fighter jet program…

A group of Jewish District of Columbia residents gathered at the city’s municipal building today for a scheduled meeting with Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. councilmember and one of the leading candidates in this year’s mayoral race, but she never showed, two people who were in the meeting told JI’s Gabby Deutch. 

A staff member for Lewis George told attendees at the start of the meeting that she was having a busy morning, and they should begin the conversation without her. At the end of the meeting, when Lewis George still had not arrived, the staff member apologized that she could not attend…

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin warned this morning that if Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoes the council’s legislation intended to regulate protests at religious and educational sites, the city will face “more divisiveness,” calling the decision a critical test for the mayor, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. 

Menin, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, speaking at 92NY on the future of Jewry in New York, beseeched the Jewish community not to flee despite tensions with the mayor. “This is not a time to lose hope. Hopefully the three of us here can embody the future of the commitment to fighting antisemitism, the commitment to supporting the Jewish community,” Menin said…

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is set to introduce a federal buffer zone bill, similar to that of the New York City Council, alongside Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on Friday, as Suozzi seeks reelection to his swing-district seat on Long Island…

Democratic lawmakers and strategists are expressing concern over the rising popularity of far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, fearing that if he clinches the Democratic nomination, he would lose in a general election to former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP front-runner, Semafor reports. Democrats must retain the Michigan Senate seat to have any hope of taking back the chamber in the midterm elections.

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the race, told the outlet that “all three candidates are qualified, but dinged El-Sayed for campaigning with [Hasan] Piker and said ‘we are continuing to see consistent polling that suggests that Haley is the only one that can win in a general election’”…

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner said he would not support keeping Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the party’s leader in the chamber, naming as potential replacements Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT) or Brian Schatz (D-HI). He also said he would oppose a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, a priority policy for much of the Democratic caucus…

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) dismissed criticism of Platner after campaigning with him in Maine last weekend: Asked on CNBC about her comment that Platner is “my kind of man” given his past incendiary rhetoric and actions including his Nazi chest tattoo, Warren said, “He has apologized, he’s out meeting with the people of Maine every single day so they can evaluate not who Graham Platner was but who Graham Platner is today.”

Warren sidestepped a question specifically about Platner’s 2014 praise of Hamas tactics during an attack on Israeli soldiers, as reported by JI: “You guys want to be the party of inclusivity, right?” host Sara Eisen asked regarding the report. “I want to be the party that stands up for hardworking people,” Warren answered…

Schumer dodged a question yesterday asking if he is on the wrong side of his party after most Democratic senators voted in favor of blocking arms sales to Israel — a measure he opposed. “Our caucus is united and focused on ending the war in Iran,” he said, and touted Democrats’ war powers resolutions before walking away…

Rep. David Scott (D-GA) died today at 80. Scott, who voted on the House floor last night, had been running for reelection for his 13th term…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for the results of this afternoon’s war powers resolution vote in the Senate, which is expected to be blocked by Republicans as the previous four were.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh will meet at the State Department tomorrow for the second round of direct talks between the two countries. Lebanon is reportedly seeking a one-month extension to the ongoing ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday; Hezbollah, which has said it is not bound by the agreement, has continued to fire rockets and a drone at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison will host an exclusive dinner honoring President Donald Trump and CBS News’ White House correspondents at the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Ellison is currently seeking regulatory approval of Paramount’s deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America will host a candidate forum for New York’s 17th Congressional District featuring leading candidates Beth Davidson, a Rockland County legislator, and Cait Conley, a national security veteran. 

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DEM DIVIDES

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CAMPAIGN CLASH

Ex-Democratic Socialists of America official working as top consultant to Osborn, Platner

Daniel Moraff also recruited Rep. Summer Lee, a leading anti-Israel Democrat, to pursue her political career

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Far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said in an interview with CNN that aired Sunday that he believes the Israeli government is just as evil as Hamas.

Responding to a question from CNN anchor Manu Raju on that issue, El-Sayed answered in the affirmative, adding, “Killing tens of thousands of people makes you pretty damn evil. It’s not, ‘How evil is this one versus that one?’ Hamas — evil. Israeli government — evil. We can say both,” he said.

He also said that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal and responsible for a genocide.

El-Sayed also defended his decision to campaign with far-left streamer Hasan Piker, brushing off criticisms of Piker as “cancel culture.”

“My understanding of America is, it’s a place where we have freedom of speech. My understanding of America is, it’s a place where we’re willing to have conversations with folks with whom we disagree,” El-Sayed said. “I went on ‘Fox and Friends’ this morning. Is it un-American to go and speak on ‘Fox and Friends’? Or are we drawing certain kinds of lines? And it’s that penchant for cancel culture that I think people hate about Democrats.”

He said that Piker is “having a conversation with a number of folks who feel locked out.”

El-Sayed also said that Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) should replace Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the Democratic leader in the Senate, due to Schumer’s continued support for U.S. aid to Israel. Van Hollen is among the most vocal critics of Israel in the Senate.

Michigan has been a closely watched bellwether of the direction of the Democratic Party, and El-Sayed’s candidacy — defined by his virulent anti-Israel rhetoric — will test how hostile Democratic partisans have become toward Israel.

At the state’s Democratic nominating convention on Sunday, which all three Senate candidates attended, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) was booed by a contingent of left-wing activists hostile to her longstanding support for Israel. 

Also receiving heckles from a loud contingent of Democratic delegates: a speaker supporting Jordan Acker, who is seeking reelection to the University of Michigan Board of Regents. Acker has been targeted by the university’s anti-Israel activists, facing harassment and vandalism of his home that Michigan leaders have called plainly antisemitic.  

Former Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at a party event the day prior to the convention, where she said President Donald Trump “got pulled into” the war in Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that the war “has always been [Trump’s] feeble attempt to distract from the Epstein files.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said on Friday that the Democratic Party “absolutely” has an issue with rising antisemitism, calling out the party’s embrace of candidates including Graham Platner in Maine and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan while criticizing the recent progressive push to cut off defensive aid to Israel. 

The Pennsylvania senator made the comments after being asked on CNN’s “The Arena with Kasie Hunt” if he believed the Democratic Party has a problem with antisemitism. Fetterman argued that the growing support for both candidates in their respective primaries was indicative of a tolerance for antisemitism within the party. 

He pointed to Platner surviving the controversy surrounding his Nazi tattoo and Jewish Insider’s reporting in recent days that the first-time candidate repeatedly praised Hamas’ tactics in a 2014 Reddit forum that shared video of the terrorist group killing several Israeli soldiers. 

“I mean, the guy that’s going to win the primary in Maine has a Nazi tattoo on his chest and now that’s no problem for a lot of voters,” Fetterman said. “I don’t know why. That’s crazy. And now, I mean, we know he knows, he knew what that was. I mean, if you’re back over 12, 13 years, cheering about the death of Israeli soldiers, I mean, you clearly have a serious issue, and the left has a serious issue with antisemitism.”

“It was just released that he was praising and celebrating a video online where Hamas was beating and torturing Israeli soldiers to death,” Fetterman said, referring to Platner. 

Fetterman also made note of El-Sayed’s lead in one recent primary poll despite his decision to campaign alongside antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.

“The guy in Michigan, he’s leading now in that race, as my party becomes more and more hostile to Israel,” Fetterman said. “They’re just palling around someone like Hasan Piker, you know the guy that, absolutely, I mean, he absolutely is proud to cheer for Hamas, loves Hamas.”

“The Democrats are proud to stand with him and campaign with him,” he added. “Go ahead, try to win Pennsylvania and campaign around Hasan Piker, or saying, ‘Yeah, America deserved 9/11’ or ‘Hamas is 1,000% better than Israel’ or ‘I don’t care about the rapes and for all this other things.’ We have a serious problem with my party.”

Fetterman, one of most vocal pro-Israel Democrats in the Senate, told Hunt that Israel is “becoming more and more toxic for a Democrat to support,” pointing out that “80% of Democrats view Israel in a negative way.” He specifically condemned the uptick in progressive and far-left voices coming out against continued defensive aid to Israel.

“You have people like [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] voting against Iron Dome, the technology that prevents tens and tens of [thousands] of Israeli deaths from the rockets that those cowards fire at civilians,” he said.

Fetterman went on to criticize members of his party for opposing the war in Iran, saying that there were other Democrats who felt the same as him in supporting the effort but were not speaking out because doing so would be “politically toxic.” 

“Every single Democrat has already been on record saying, ‘We can‘t ever allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb,’” Fetterman said, specifically naming former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and “everyone that’s run for president” who said “we can’t ever allow that to happen.”

“Then, [President Donald] Trump happened to do something about that to prevent that. That’s why I support that,” he continued. “I’m not the only Democrat who supports this, but I’m the only Democrat that’s willing to stand up and say it’s the right thing because I know how politically toxic it is as a Democrat to support this.”

Fetterman surmised that he is the “only Democrat … perhaps left in the entire Congress” who will say publicly that recent U.S. military action in Iran “was necessary” because doing so “contradicts every single thing that every Democrat has said” about how “we can’t ever allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb.”

Fetterman went on to criticize the Democratic lawmakers who voted for the recent war powers resolutions in the House and Senate, arguing that their opposition to the war has been “celebrated” by Iranian leadership and calling their response to the conflict “absurd.”

“Iran has celebrated this,” Fetterman said of the broad Democratic opposition. “A lot of people in my party and a lot of people in the media has turned Iran into the underdog. They’re like Rudy” — making a reference to the 1993 sports movie — “and putting them up on their shoulders and cheering for Iran at this point.”

Asked to respond to Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s (D-MI) statement that “being pro-Israel today is not about simply supporting the political or military agenda of Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, just like being pro-American should not be equated with loyalty to President Trump,” Fetterman argued that her comments on her votes for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) measures on Thursday blocking military sales to Israel were similarly “absurd.”

“She’s a Democratic senator. Why aren’t you criticizing Iran? Why aren’t you criticizing Hamas or Hezbollah or these other kinds of forces? If you have to pick a side here, criticize that. So that’s where we are as a Democratic Party, and you’re going to vote against the kinds of critical aid that Israel requires and needs in order to beat back and destroy an organization like Hezbollah. Like I said, if you have to pick a side in a war, and clearly we have a side, I’m proud to stand on the side of Israel and America.”

Pressed on if he was still committed to being a Democrat given that his comments marked his harshest criticism yet of his party, Fetterman responded affirmatively.

“Well, of course. Yeah, I am absolutely committed to [remaining a] Democrat, absolutely,” Fetterman said. “I vote 91, 92 percent the Democratic line, but I am the only Democrat now that’s proud to consistently stand with Israel, and I’m going to do that, and that’s been very damaging with my standing as a Democrat.”

“If it’s what’s necessary, I’ll be the last Democrat standing with Israel through this,” he later added.

Fetterman also predicted that the war in Iran would not go on much longer, noting that “things kind of continue to wind down,” and said it’s “important to support” the U.S. securing an outcome in which Iranian leadership “surrenders.”  

“I think these are very positive developments,” he said of Israel and the U.S. targeting Iran and their leading proxies. 

“I think it seems like it’s going to wind down,” Fetterman said. “And we’re heading to a strong end at this point.”

At a Tuesday night event with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker at the University of Michigan, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on claims that the man who attacked Temple Israel in West Bloomfield last month did so as a result of the pain he felt from the war in the Middle East. 

“Nothing justifies the heinous attack that we saw on Temple Israel,” El-Sayed, a Democrat, said at a press conference alongside Piker, with whom he appeared at two campaign rallies in Michigan on Tuesday. “I also think it’s just critical for us to understand that hurt people do hurt people, and the circumstances happening 6,000 miles away can affect the lives that we live here, and if we stand against violence, we’ve got to stand against violence, all violence.” 

El-Sayed’s comments reiterated a sentiment he expressed the day after a Lebanese American man drove a car packed with explosives into the synagogue. No one lost their lives in the incident. The assailant, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after shooting at a security guard, had family members killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon — including his brother, a commander in Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia. 

Since El-Sayed’s initial statement, more details surrounding the attack have surfaced. The FBI said the attack was “a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community.” 

When a reporter from The Free Press pressed El-Sayed on his claim, asking whether a similar argument would have allowed sympathy for a Jewish person attacking a mosque after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel, he suggested the circumstances were not the same. 

“After Oct. 7, there was a whole genocide against Palestinians,” El-Sayed said.

Far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, leftist streamer Hasan Piker and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Summer Lee (D-PA) dismissed criticism of Piker and his past antisemitic and anti-American comments at a rally at the University of Michigan on Tuesday — El-Sayed’s second event of the day with the controversial social media influencer.

The El-Sayed endorsers all brushed off the criticism of Piker’s record of antisemitic comments, support for terrorism and other controversial activity as a distraction from their message and other issues of the day, including the war in Iran.

“A lot of the people that are on the Republican side, the reactionary side, they, instead of talking about [the war in Gaza], decided to talk about me stumping for Abdul El-Sayed instead,” Piker said, dismissing criticism of him — which has come from Democrats as well — as a distraction.

Piker referred to the war in Iran as “Operation Epstein’s Fury” and the Trump administration as “a bunch of fascist monsters that got tuned up by Israel,” and closed out his remarks with “Free Palestine.”

“Every single dollar that is spent on a bomb is stolen from each and every one of you. That’s $1 that they spend blowing up a school overseas instead of building schools in your neighborhoods,” he continued, going on to blame support for Israel for the lack of universal healthcare in the United States, and to claim that U.S. taxpayers are paying for Israel’s healthcare system.

El Sayed said that he had heard that a pro-Israel group on campus planned to protest the rally — to boos from the crowd — but El-Sayed said that the group would be welcome in the room “because at the end of the day, we believe in the courage of our convictions and our ideals.”

During his remarks, El-Sayed took numerous swipes at AIPAC, accusing the pro-Israel advocacy group of “corrupting our entire politics.” He said he expects the pro-Israel organization will be the largest spender in the Senate primary — though it has not yet announced any plans to engage in the race and has never before spent money in a Senate campaign. 

He called the war in Iran “genocidal, illegal, unjustifiable” and accused fellow Democrats of hypocrisy for saying that they view the war as illegal but declining to rule out voting for supplemental funding to support the war effort.

He also insisted — in spite of his promotion of Piker — that he would be a strong voice against antisemitism, pointing to his own background as a Muslim and his “love and reverence” for all people.

Tlaib said she’d told Piker backstage that he would always be welcome in Michigan.

“The fact that, literally, they’re all like, ‘Defend our democracy. Oh, shut up, cancel him’ — make up your damn mind,” Tlaib said, addressing critics of Piker. “Make up your godd*** mind. We’re for everybody in the room or not. Give me a break.”

Tlaib praised El-Sayed as someone closely aligned with her anti-Israel views, including support for blocking aid to the Jewish state. 

“I’ve been there seven years, and I’m tired of having to beg my colleagues to do the right thing, to not take money from the people that hurt us, not to literally spend resources and funding like this for war and destruction and death,” Tlaib said. “If any member of Congress or Senate can support a genocide like that, what else are they supporting right here in our backyard at home.”

Lee, like Piker and El-Sayed, dismissed the controversy over the rally as an attempt by people “who don’t want us talking to people who might rock the boat” to silence and stop the rally.

Other speakers at the rally included UM regent candidate Amir Makled, an attorney who provided pro bono representation to anti-Israel protesters at the university who faced criminal charges for their role in the demonstration, Summit Louth, the newly elected president of UM’s student government and Yousef Rabhi, a county commissioner.

“It was right here on this campus that students were punished for speaking out at the Diag, and it was right here on this campus where that outrage, the irreprehensible conduct of our Board of Regents punished students for speaking out against the genocide that students were charged with felonies just for the words of ‘free Palestine,’” Makled claimed.

Among other issues, Louth praised El-Sayed for calling the war in Gaza a genocide and for condemning the war in Iran and the Israeli operations in Lebanon.

“As we all saw this morning, the deranged president of this country issued a genocidal ultimatum on an entire country. F*** him. F*** that. We need to take our country back,” Rabhi said. “Instead of putting forward money to pay for your tuition, they are bombing people halfway across the world. Instead of paying money to make sure that we have single payer universal health care in this country, they are murdering innocent people. “

ROYAL OAK, Mich. — Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who is running in a tight three-way Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, slammed one of her opponents, Abdul El-Sayed, for his decision to campaign with the far-left political streamer Hasan Piker. 

Piker, who has a history of antisemitic and pro-Hamas remarks, is slated to appear at two campaign rallies with El-Sayed and Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) in April. 

“It is somebody who says extremely offensive things in order to generate clicks and views and followers, which is not entirely different from somebody like Nick Fuentes,” McMorrow told Jewish Insider in an interview Thursday, referring to the neo-Nazi podcaster. “[Piker] is a provocateur, to put it lightly, who says things that are misogynistic and antisemitic, and said that the United States deserved 9/11.” 

McMorrow’s comments come as El-Sayed has doubled down on his decision to campaign with Piker. The third major candidate in the Democratic primary, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), said on Wednesday that Piker is “the exact opposite of someone I’d be campaigning with,” a sentiment McMorrow echoed.

“That is not somebody that you should be campaigning with at a moment when there is clearly a lot of pain and trauma across our state,” said McMorrow. “How do you bring everybody together, especially when there are difficult conversations, where there aren’t easy answers? You don’t fan the flames and stoke division just to get attention.” 

Earlier this month, a heavily armed man drove a car into Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue with an early childcare center in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., before he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The assailant’s brother, a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, was killed by Israeli forces not long before the Michigan attack.

“I had made a statement back in 2023 after the Oct. 7 attacks that my biggest fear was that events in the Middle East tear us apart at home, and this was an example of that coming to life in a really visceral and terrifying way,” McMorrow said. 

“However you feel about what is happening in the Middle East, the response is never to take it out on people at home. The 140 kids who were at preschool that day bear no responsibility at all for anything that’s happening in the Middle East. And the rhetoric [is] being ratcheted up.”

A nasty intraparty divide intensified this week as Democrats publicly debated whether to associate with Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer who has faced criticism for antisemitic commentary and pro-Hamas rhetoric, among other extreme remarks.

The dispute erupted Tuesday after Piker revealed that he would join Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, for two upcoming rallies in the state, marking the Twitch streamer’s first major campaign appearance of the midterms.

For mainstream Democrats increasingly troubled with Piker’s rising influence on the left, El-Sayed’s decision was particularly alarming. In a statement on Tuesday, Jonathan Cowan, president of the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, said Democrats’ associations with Piker are “morally repugnant and strategically self-defeating,” and alleged that candidates “eager to campaign with” him are, “at best, comfortable overlooking his antisemitic and anti-American extremism and, at worst, endorsing it.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a top moderate voice in the House, became one of the first prominent Democratic officials to speak out against Piker in comments on Tuesday, calling on the party to reject and distance itself from a figure he characterized as “an unapologetic antisemite.”

In a statement to social media, Schneider said Democrats “cannot allow those who preach hate and seek division to find safe harbor among us,” urging his colleagues to “call out hate and reject those who champion ideologies of exclusion and demonization.”

On Wednesday, El-Sayed faced further blowback from high-profile Michigan Democrats, including Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), a top rival in the Senate race, who said “choosing to campaign with someone who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric” would not be a winning formula in the swing state. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) echoed that sentiment, saying Piker “sounds deeply antisemitic” and he is “not someone that should be helping anybody out in the Michigan political environment.”

A spokesperson for El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment asking if he had weighed Piker’s antisemitic rhetoric in choosing to appear with him. The Senate candidate has said he is unconcerned with backlash to his decision, while arguing that his “politics resonates with people who have been locked out.”

Piker, for his part, has appeared to relish the new controversy, calling Schneider an “AIPAC dog” in an X post. “Democrats that spend any amount of time chirping about me love israel [sic] more than defeating Republicans and preserving democracy,” he wrote in another.

Even as prominent progressives have come to Piker’s defense, none seem to have meaningfully reckoned with his record of extreme commentary, which features a range of offensive statements about Jews and Israel. He has labeled Orthodox Jews as “inbred,” compared Zionists to Nazis and dismissed reports of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. More recently, he unequivocally sided with Hamas, saying the terror group “is a thousand times better” than Israel — which he condemned as a “fascist settler colonial apartheid state” in a social media post last January to his 1.6 million followers.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), for instance, a potential 2028 presidential contender who has appeared on Piker’s show, said in mid-March that he is “proud” to join the streamer’s feed. But when asked to share his views on Piker’s antisemitic comments, Khanna — in keeping with other progressive elected officials and activists who likewise have ties to the influencer — has demurred, stating broadly that he condemns antisemitism while reiterating he has called Hamas a terrorist organization.

The debate over Piker raises questions about the meaning of progressivism as left-leaning figures have continued to tolerate and in some cases even condone Piker’s extreme commentary, which has frequently shown a penchant for illiberalism that is sharply at odds with traditional progressive values.

In addition to espousing antisemitism and using eliminationist rhetoric with regard to Israel, Piker has said “America deserved 9/11,” downplayed the U.S.-designated Uyghur genocide in China, voiced approval of Hezbollah, called Russia’s annexation of Crimea “justifiable” and endorsed political violence, among other radical sentiments regularly expressed on his Twitch stream and on social media.

Jeremiah Johnson, co-founder of the Center for New Liberalism, who has written critically about Democrats embracing Piker, said the fundamental issue with the streamer “is that he does not believe in liberal democracy.”

“I am generally in favor of a big tent for the Democratic Party,” he told Jewish Insider. “If we want to win large majorities, we’re going to have to accept that some of the people who vote for us will have idiosyncratic, outdated or even outright wrong and bigoted views. But that doesn’t mean we should make those voices the face of the party, and I think it’s a dangerous game for Democrats to promote people like Piker.”

Piker’s status otherwise underscores how some progressive leaders are increasingly aligning with extreme figures in the Democratic Party based on broad policy agreements, without fully accounting for the implications of ignoring or validating baggage that voters would likely find off-putting.

Last week, for example, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined a growing cohort of Democratic senators in endorsing Graham Platner, a far-left candidate running for Senate in the battleground state of Maine, saying he’s “got the grit to fight for what’s right on behalf of Maine’s working families — not billionaires and giant corporations.”

Her statement made no allusion to the lingering concerns over Platner’s now-covered Nazi tattoo — whose symbolism he claims not to have known until recently — even as she raised alarms last year about one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s tattoos that is reportedly linked to white supremacist ideology.

Warren’s team did not respond to a request for comment from JI asking if she had considered Platner’s tattoo while making her endorsement.

Some critics argue that progressives who overlook Piker’s disturbing record or dismiss Platner’s tattoo do so at their own peril. 

Shannon Watts, a prominent gun control activist who has vocally criticized both Piker and Platner, said it is “disheartening to watch some Democratic politicians and pundits align with the most morally vacant and dangerous people in our party, just as we watched happen on the right for over a decade.”

“Too many Democrats are deciding one compromise at a time that their political survival matters more than principle,” she told JI this week. “Anyone who embraces hatred cannot call themselves progressive; they are simply an emerging version of MAGA on the left. Aligning with and supporting antisemitic behavior is a moral stain on our party and a stark warning sign for our future.”

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing criticism from some prominent Michigan Democrats — including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who is running against him in the Democratic primary — for his decision to host campaign rallies with Hasan Piker, the far-left political streamer with a history of antisemitic remarks. 

“That’s the exact opposite of someone I’d be campaigning with,” Stevens told Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “We have to be serious here about who’s going to be the best general election candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan to beat [Republican] Mike Rogers, and someone who’s campaigning with someone like that is not going to win in Michigan.” 

El-Sayed will host two rallies with Piker and Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University on April 7. 

Piker has millions of followers on the streaming platform Twitch. He has said that “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, and has described Orthodox Jews as “inbred.” He has also praised terrorists and said America deserved 9/11. 

Stevens said that by associating with Piker, El-Sayed is “choosing to campaign with someone who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric.”

Slotkin told JI that she is not familiar with much of Piker’s language but that what she knows of his rhetoric raises concerns for her.

“Any equating of all Jews or American Jews with Israel and the Israeli government is a problem right off the bat, and then it sounds like, from there, a cascading set of antisemitic tropes and just the kind of rhetoric that is — I want to read for myself, but sounds deeply antisemitic, consistently, and therefore not someone that should be helping anybody out in the Michigan political environment,” said Slotkin. 

The announcement of Piker’s upcoming campaign visits to Michigan comes two weeks after an attempted terrorist attack at Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. 

A new poll conducted by the campaign of Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, the third major Democrat running alongside Stevens and Piker, shows McMorrow leading the race with 30%. El-Sayed is behind her at 25%, and Stevens follows at 23%, with 21% undecided. Other polling ahead of the August primary has shown Stevens with a small lead. 

Far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is taking flak over comments in an internal campaign call that issuing a statement on the attempted terrorist attack on Temple Israel in the Detroit suburbs that placed blame on Israel for the attack was a “risk” he felt he had to take, Punchbowl News reported Tuesday.

In both the original statement and the internal comments, El-Sayed condemned the attack while also suggesting that it ultimately could be blamed on Israel’s operations in Lebanon. The alleged attacker was the brother of a Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike, the IDF said.

The Punchbowl report linked to a minute-long unlisted YouTube video of El-Sayed, which appears to have been recorded on Zoom.

“I want us to understand that we have to work toward a world where none of this happens, no war, no bombing of apartment buildings, no antisemitism, no attacks on synagogues in schools, like we need to be opposed to all of it and and I think that that’s the kind of leadership that I’m hoping I can offer,” El-Sayed said in the video.

“We put out a much longer statement on this,” he continued. “I hope folks will check it out, and I hope it resonated. And, you know, it was a risk. All of our team was really worried about saying something, but leadership is being willing to say the thing, if you believe it to be true, that nobody else is going to say.”

El-Sayed clarified in an X post that the “risk” he was referring to “that these cowards will NEVER take is having the courage to call out an illegal and unjustified war that’s killing children, wasting our tax dollars, and spiking gas prices, too.”

While El-Sayed spoke, one person in the Zoom meeting, identified as “Mauricio” appeared to justify the attack, saying in a comment, “The synagogue raised funds for the IDF.”

In the initial statement, El-Sayed offered a condemnation of the attack, emphasizing that it would leave scars on the community and that it recalled “centuries of trauma,” while affirming his support for Jews’ right to practice their faith in safety.

But, while condemning the attacker and saying his actions could not be justified, El-Sayed also suggested that the perpetrator’s actions ultimately traced back to Israel and its reported killing of his family members.

“Hurt people hurt people. Violence is a cycle,” El-Sayed said. “Ayman Ghazali lost family, including two children in an airstrike in Lebanon last week. They were innocent people, and then, in an evil act of displaced rage, he tried to take it out on innocent children who had nothing to do with the loss of the innocent children he lost, except that they share a faith.”

“A week earlier, an airstrike killed his niece and nephew. Imagine if that had never happened. Imagine there was no war in Iran. Imagine if there were no air strikes in Lebanon. Imagine if his family had never died. Imagine there was never an attack on Temple Israel. That’s the world that we want to live in,” El-Sayed continued.

Spokespeople for El-Sayed’s Democratic opponents did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But Republicans have pounced on the comments.

Mike Rogers, the likely GOP nominee for the Senate race, condemned El-Sayed over his remarks in the internal campaign call.

“If you’re having a moral crisis over whether to condemn terrorism, you’re unfit for office,” Rogers said in a statement. “There’s no justification for it, but here Abdul is sympathizing with the attacker. It’s an absolute slap in the face to the families of these kids, and to Michigan’s entire Jewish community — and only serves to inflame antisemitism.”

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called his comments “pathetic.

“The contrast couldn’t be more clear in Michigan: radical terrorist sympathizers like Abdul El-Sayed or America First heroes like Mike Rogers,” Scott said.

El-Sayed has shrugged off criticisms of his comments.

El-Sayed is also facing attacks from Republicans and the Democratic group Third Way over his participation in a pair of events with far-left influencer Hasan Piker, who has repeatedly made antisemitic comments and expressed support for terrorism.

A prominent moderate Democratic think tank is continuing to call out Democratic candidates for being “too cozy” with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, who has been embraced by several left-wing Democrats in recent months.

In his latest statement, Jonathan Cowan, president of Third Way, condemned Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for his upcoming rallies with Piker, first reported by Politico, set to take place on April 7 at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan alongside Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA).

“It is morally repugnant and strategically self-defeating for Democrats like Abdul El-Sayed and Members of Congress like Summer Lee to cozy up to antisemitic extremists like Hasan Piker,” Cowan said. “Anyone eager to campaign with Hasan Piker is, at best, comfortable overlooking his antisemitic and anti-American extremism and, at worst, endorsing it.”

Cowan referenced a Wall Street Journal editorial he co-authored with Third Way’s Lily Cohen last week, titled “Democrats Are Too Cozy With Hasan Piker,” in which the two urged Democrats to follow the lead of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in calling out antisemitism in their own party.

“Piker’s depravity rivals that of far-right bigots. We will not defeat the surge of antisemitism in America without taking on its most influential proponents on our own side,” Cowan’s statement continued. “Embracing extreme bigots like Piker, who, for starters, has called religious Jews ‘inbred’ and said ‘America deserved 9/11,’ is not only dangerous and wrong, but antithetical to the urgent work of winning over the middle and defeating Trumpism.”

Other Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), have also embraced Piker, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently pledged to appear on Piker’s popular Twitch stream.

Former Obama administration officials and Crooked Media hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Ben Rhodes are hosting a fundraiser in Hollywood, Calif., on Thursday for Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left, anti-Israel candidate running in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan.

El-Sayed, a physician and former director of the Wayne County Department of Health, has made his criticisms of Israel a centerpiece of his campaign, criticizing other candidates in the race as being insufficiently hostile to the Jewish state.

Favreau, Lovett and Rhodes, on their “Pod Save America” and “Pod Save the World” podcasts, have also emerged as a vocal force against Israel and AIPAC in the Democratic Party, and have boosted prominent anti-Israel candidates in other hot-button primaries, including Maine’s Graham Platner.

Other listed members of the host committee for the fundraiser include Noah Redlich, Ed Redlich, Sarah Timberman, Harper Simon, Mindy Schultheis and Jeff Strauss and No Democrat Left Behind, a “progressive populist” group.

As two Democratic Michigan Senate candidates compete for the votes of anti-Israel voters with accusations of genocide against the Jewish state, Abdul El-Sayed, is going after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, as insufficiently and inauthentically critical of Israel.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), meanwhile, is solidifying her support for Israel, receiving an endorsement this week from Democratic Majority for Israel and calling herself a “proud pro-Israel Democrat [who] believe[s] America is stronger when we stand with our democratic allies, confront antisemitism and extremism, and keep our promises to our friends abroad and our working families here at home.”

With significant Arab and Muslim and Jewish constituencies, Israel policy issues are poised to play a significant role in Michigan’s Democratic primary next year.

El-Sayed entered the race as a vocal critic of Israel, while McMorrow, in recent months, has joined him in describing the war in Gaza as a genocide, as well as saying she would support efforts to cut off offensive weapons shipments to Israel.

El-Sayed, in a recent event at Michigan State University, criticized McMorrow for not taking that position sooner, describing allegations of genocide in Gaza as a matter of clear and incontrovertible fact. Video of the comments was published by the Michigan Advance.

He compared McMorrow’s position to someone taking months to decide that the sky is blue and saying, “let me give you five caveats about why it might not be blue.”

El-Sayed also suggested that McMorrow’s positions changed because she was seeking support from AIPAC, and only took a more critical stance on Israel after the group declined to support her. The far-left publication Drop Site alleged that McMorrow had been seeking an AIPAC endorsement earlier in the year and had authored a pro-Israel position paper. 

McMorrow’s campaign has denied that she completed a questionnaire for AIPAC and McMorrow said last month she would not accept the group’s support. AIPAC has previously endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who has maintained her position on Israel, in House races, but has not weighed in on the Senate race.

“When there’s 20,000 kids who died, that’s a genocide,” El-Sayed said in his remarks at Michigan State. “When people who are from the very country that committed — whose government committed that genocide say it’s a genocide, at some point you kind of just gotta be like, ‘Oh it’s a f***ing genocide.’ … “I don’t pretend that when 20,000 babies are murdered by our tax dollars, that there’s hemming and hawing about saying because it’s the truth.” El-Sayed was referring to numbers from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health indicating that almost 20,000 children and teenagers were killed in the war.

He suggested that McMorrow is trying to “package” herself as a progressive changemaker while the “substance” of her policies is “the same old politics.”

Asked last month whether the war in Gaza is a genocide, McMorrow said that it is.

“We have [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu trying to tell us what we’ve been seeing with our own eyes is not true,” McMorrow said. “It is true. And two things can be true at once. … The position of the United States should not be that we support Netanyahu with no check and balances.”

Asked about El-Sayed’s criticisms, McMorrow’s campaign referred Jewish Insider to those remarks.

Good Wednesday morning!

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on the far-left challengers gearing up to compete against Democratic incumbents in New York City and cover Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s evasive answer to whether he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. We report on the reaction of Jewish groups to former state Assemblyman Michael Blake, who is running in the Democratic primary against Rep. Ritchie Torres, for featuring a clip of an antisemitic influencer in his campaign launch video. We also cover the announcement by former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) that she will run to reclaim the congressional seat she lost in 2022, and report on Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer’s resignation. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Shulem Lemmer, Gal Gadot, and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

• The International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries begins today in New York City, bringing together 6,200 rabbis from 111 countries.
• Former First Lady Michelle Obama will appear at Washington’s Sixth & I Synagogue this evening to discuss her forthcoming book, The Look.
• Finance industry executives — including Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan and Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman — were invited to dinner at the White House with President Donald Trump this evening. 

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar

Beware the law of unintended consequences: President Donald Trump’s zeal to aggressively redraw maps in GOP-friendly states is looking like it will bring less of a political advantage to Republicans than originally expected.  

Indeed, if the overall political environment remains in the Democrats’ favor — which would be consistent with the historical precedent of the opposition party gaining seats in the first midterm election of a new president — the House is likely to flip back to the Democrats’ control in 2027.

Here’s the lowdown: California’s referendum on redistricting, which passed overwhelmingly on Election Day, will allow Democrats to gain as many as five seats with a new, more-partisan map — with three Republican-held seats (of GOP Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley and Ken Calvert) all but guaranteed to flip.

That should offset the expected GOP gains in Texas, which started the whole redistricting gamesmanship off with a partisan redraw that guarantees Republicans to pick up at least three Democratic-held seats, with the hope that Republicans can win two additional seats that became more favorable to them.

But there’s a catch with the Texas map. Two of the redrawn districts — the seats of Democratic Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar — are in predominantly Hispanic areas along the U.S.-Mexico border that swung dramatically to Trump in 2024, but had a long tradition of voting Democratic before then. If Democrats rebound with Hispanic voters — as happened in New Jersey and Virginia on Election Day — and the national environment remains rough for Republicans, it’s not hard to see the two Democratic incumbents hanging on.

Adding another wrinkle to the GOP’s redistricting plans: A Utah judge rejected the preferred map drawn by Republican state lawmakers, and selected a new map that would guarantee a Democratic district in Salt Lake City. That would automatically flip one seat to the Democrats, given that the state’s current delegation is made up of four Republicans, all in solidly Republican districts. 

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

NEXT STEPS

After Mamdani win, socialists look to challenge Democratic incumbents in NYC

The organized left scored a major victory last week when Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, elevating to executive office a politician who became one of the nation’s most prominent democratic socialists during the campaign. Now, as the movement seeks to ride momentum from Mamdani’s win and grow its influence at the federal level, some emerging challengers are setting their sights on a handful of pro-Israel New York Democrats in the House — posing what is likely to be the first key test of its political credibility in the upcoming midterm elections, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

Challenges ahead: While next year’s primaries are still more than six months away, some early signs indicate that the far left is already facing obstacles in its efforts to target established incumbents like Reps. Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres, raising questions about its organizational discipline and messaging ability, not to mention alignment with Mamdani — who is now walking a delicate path in seeking buy-in from state leadership to deliver on his ambitious affordability agenda. Jake Dilemani, a Democratic consultant in New York, said “there is and should be euphoria among the left” after Mamdani’s victory, “but that does not necessarily translate into toppling relatively popular incumbents. One swallow does not make a summer,” he told JI on Tuesday.

Read the full story here.

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EVASIVE MANEUVER

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sidesteps question on Israel’s right to exist

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sidestepped a question about Israel’s right to exist during an interview with the anti-Israel media outlet Zeteo last week. Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan asked El-Sayed how he would respond if and when he faces questions on the campaign trail about whether he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. 

What he said — and what he didn’t: El-Sayed initially responded by calling the question hypocritical and again dodged when pressed. He said that most U.S. presidents have expressed support for a two-state solution, and “Israel exists. Palestine doesn’t. And so I always wonder why nobody asks me why Palestine doesn’t have a right to exist.” El-Sayed accused the U.S. of supporting “the very people in Israel who want to foreclose on the possibility of Palestine existing. And so to me, frankly, it is about our principles and how we apply them evenly. If you believe in a two-state solution, then what are you doing to make it possible?” he continued.

Read the full story here.

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EXCLUSIVE

Jewish groups blast Torres challenger for featuring antisemitic activist in campaign launch

Major New York Jewish groups criticized former Assemblyman Michael Blake, who is running in the Democratic primary against Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), for featuring a clip of an influencer who supported the shooting of two Israeli Embassy employees at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in his campaign launch video, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Pushback: “Hurling a bus load of antisemitic tropes and platforming bigots who cheer antisemitic violence in a launch video is not the pro-humanity flex one thinks it is,” the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York said in a statement. The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey said that “we can all agree that Michael Blake’s platforming of anti-Zionist influencer Guy Christensen should be roundly condemned.”

Read the full story here.

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comeback campaign

Pro-Israel Democrat Elaine Luria announces bid to reclaim House seat

Former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), who was an outspoken voice in support of Israel and against antisemitism during her time in the House, announced a bid on Wednesday to reclaim the congressional seat she lost in 2022, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Looking back: Luria, who is Jewish, was a leading moderate voice in the House in support of Israel and against antisemitism, at times criticizing members of her own party and breaking with the Biden administration on its Israel policy. She was one of the few House Democrats who consistently opposed efforts by the Biden administration to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal and Luria organized and led a group of pro-Israel House Democrats to speak on the House floor in 2021 in support of Israel and its military operations, responding to a competing effort by far-left Democrats in opposition. She also repeatedly called out antisemitism from Democratic colleagues.

Read the full story here.

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STEPPING DOWN

Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s right-hand man, resigns from Israeli government

Israel’s influential minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, resigned from his post on Tuesday, three years after assuming the role, Jewish Insider’s Tamara Zieve reports. “This government will be defined both by the attack on October 7th and by the prosecution of the two-year, seven-front, war that followed,” Dermer, widely regarded as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest advisor, wrote in his resignation letter.

Staying around: Dermer has led Israel’s ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations since February. He is expected to stay on as Netanyahu’s envoy to continue handling the future of the Gaza portfolio, political sources recently told JI. U.S.-born and a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, Dermer has long played a central role in managing Israel’s relationship with the U.S. “What the future holds for me, I do not know. But I do know this: No matter what I do, I will continue to do my part to help secure the future of the Jewish people,” Dermer said.

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history lessons

Clintons tie Trump’s Gaza peace plan to Oslo Accords in Rabin memorial discussion

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza could be a “new moment of hope and possibility.” But it will only be successful if there is “a level of organization” applied to the implementation, a lesson that can be drawn from the Oslo process, she said, during a panel hosted by Columbia University’s Institute of Global Politics, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. 

What she said: “One thing that can be learned from the Oslo process and applied to the situation now with the peace plan is that there was a process,” Clinton said. The event commemorated the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was murdered by a right-wing extremist, soon after signing the Oslo II Accords peace agreements with then-Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in 1995 — two years after the signing of the Oslo I Accords. “You have to have a level of organization, it can’t just have few people at the top — whether it be a president or special envoy, as necessary as they are, you have to have teams of people who can be working with their counterparts,” continued Clinton, who is a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia. 

What he said: In 40-minute remarks, former President Bill Clinton, who mediated the Oslo Accords signing — which he hosted at the White House — spoke about his close personal and professional relationship with Rabin, calling the assassination one of the worst days of his life. “We have to begin again, where the trust level is low,” Clinton said of achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace. “People in power might not be in favor of giving up on anything now.” 

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Worthy Reads

Hate on the Right, Then and Now: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens draws comparisons between today’s rising trend of antisemitism within the GOP to past iterations of antisemitic ideology on the right. “The MAGA movement is not antisemitic. But many of its core convictions are antisemitic-adjacent — that is, they have a habit of leading in an anti-Jewish direction. Opposition to free trade, or to a welcoming immigration policy, or to international law that crimps national sovereignty, are legitimate, if often wrongheaded, political positions. But they have a way of melding with hoary stereotypes about ‘the International Jew; working across borders against the interests of so-called real Americans.” [NYTimes]

After Mamdani, Healing Divisions: Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, senior rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, reflects in the Forward about how the New York City Jewish community must unite in the aftermath of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory. “For me, personally, the fact that about a third of New York City’s Jewish voters checked the box for Mamdani is totally bewildering. I am not unaware of the bigger political trends, the shortcomings of the other candidates, or the systemic challenges our city faces; I understand why Mamdani won. But for me, his anti-Zionist rhetoric and his intent to shut down research and economic partnerships between Israel and New York — to name but a few of his promises that would negatively impact our community — not only disqualified him from receiving my vote, but were a meaningful enough concern that I chose to publicly urge Jews and their allies to vote against him as well. And yet, it would seem that what was self-evident to me was not so self-evident to a sizeable percentage of my kinfolk. … We need to learn to walk together again. If, as I have repeatedly claimed, ahavat yisrael — love of the Jewish people — is my North Star, then it is a principle I must uphold even and especially when it is uncomfortable to do so. It is a love that must extend to Jews whose views I neither share nor understand.” [Forward]

Takeover on the Quad: John Ellis, professor emeritus of German literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, argues in The Wall Street Journal for placing universities in a “receivership” to address the dominance of left-wing ideology in higher education. “The discrepancy between what we fund the campuses for and what they are doing is enormous. Promotion of knowledge and understanding has given way to inculcation of a poisonous fringe ideology. Students are encouraged to despise their society and kept ignorant of anything that might make them think otherwise. … The only viable solution is to place schools in ‘receivership,’ a well-established procedure to reform ailing college departments. A new chairman is imposed on a department with a free hand to make whatever appointments he thinks necessary to restore the department to health. By action of lawmakers or trustees, a new president can be imposed on a campus with a mandate to return the school to its proper mission by appointing subordinate administrators, especially deans, committed to reform.” [WSJ]

Investing in the Jewish Future: In Sapir, Jordan Chandler Hirsch argues that the Jewish people should establish a sovereign wealth fund to secure long-term communal and national resilience. “A wealth fund would allow the Jewish community to invite allies and skeptics alike into mutually beneficial investments. It could help key players solve their problems and achieve their goals, thereby securing support for ours. Skeptics who distrust our institutionalism might respect our show of independence. Anti-establishment forces might welcome Jewish capital that strengthens their projects. Most important, a wealth fund could transform both our psychology and our posture — from supplicants seeking protection into partners offering opportunity. Despite its corporate veneer, a wealth fund would not merely reproduce institutionalism. If shtadlanut sought seats at the institutional table, a wealth fund would build its own table and invite others in.” [SAPIR] 

Word on the Street

President Donald Trump sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog calling on him to “fully pardon” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing the corruption case against him as “a political, unjustified prosecution.” Herzog’s office put out a statement saying that while he “holds President Trump in the highest regard … anyone seeking a Presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures”…

Following a joint meeting in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced the creation of a joint committee “for the consolidation of the state of Palestine,” which will work towards drafting a “constitution” for such a state…

Iran has smuggled advanced armaments to terror groups in the West Bank over several months, the Washington Free Beacon reports, including rockets, explosive drones, anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, hoping to use it as another launch pad in addition to Gaza to attack Israel…

Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the Capitol on Tuesday. A person familiar with the situation told Jewish Insider that Van Hollen had “reiterated his support for the lifting of the Caesar sanctions while also stressing his long-held position that the U.S. must ensure that the Government of Syria complies with the six conditions included in the amendment he and Senator Graham added to the NDAA”…

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) urged the State Department to take action to ensure the release of Kamran Hekmati, an Iranian-American dual citizen and Suozzi constituent imprisoned in Iran. “This is about more than one man. It’s about defending the basic rights of American citizens abroad and standing up to regimes that traffic in hostage diplomacy,” Suozzi said…

Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI) led 125 House Democrats in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio seeking “clarity on your plan to ensure desperately needed humanitarian aid reaches Palestinian civilians in Gaza” and urging that aid be distributed through “reputable international institutions”…

Saudi Arabia is set to host a U.S.-Saudi investment summit at the Kennedy Center in Washington next Wednesday, a day after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman‘s visit to the White House…

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) met with Malcolm Jallow, an anti-Israel left-wing member of the Swedish parliament who has espoused antisemitic views and has associations with pro-Hamas individuals…

The New York Times speaks to Iranians deported back to Iran by the Trump administration in the first U.S.-chartered deportation flight to the country in September…

The New York Times profiles Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, who is preparing to run for Congress in New York’s 12th Congressional District…

After receiving backlash for canceling planned shows in Israel as a result of pressure by the BDS movement, British comedian John Cleese said he was only postponing the shows “following advice about safety.” The “Monty Python” actor, who has a history of anti-Israel commentary on social media, claimed he is “hugely fond of Israeli audiences”…

Argentine President Javier Milei met with Rabbi David Yosef, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel; Isaac Sacca, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Argentina; and Eyal Sela, the Israeli ambassador to Argentina… 

Israeli authorities arrested four suspects after dozens of settlers launched an arson attack in the Palestinian villages of Bei Lid and Deir Sharaf in the West Bank….

Israeli actress Gal Gadot won Israel’s Genesis Prize, sometimes called the “Jewish Nobel,” for her outspoken support of Israel in Hollywood since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. Gadot said she will donate the $1 million award to organizations “that will help Israel heal”… 

Israeli pop star Noa Kirel and soccer player Daniel Peretz tied the knot on Tuesday in an A-lister affair in Jaffa: spotted at the nuptials were Israeli celebrities Eden Daniel Gabay, Idan Raichel, Eran Zahavi, Reef Neeman, Ron Bitton, Ron Aluf and Mor Hamami…

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts recently toured a site in Saudi Arabia for a possible Universal theme park location, raising speculation that he might bring in Saudi funds for a potential Comcast bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery…

Wonderful, an Israeli AI startup, has secured $100 million in a Series A funding round led by Index Ventures, with backing from Insight Partners, IVP, Bessemer and Vine Ventures…

Song of the Day

Shulem Lemmer shared on social media “The March Medley” he performed together in June with the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, featuring Gur’s “Shir Hamaalos” and Modzitz’s “Ein Kitzvah,” at the 2025 MDA Chassidut B’Class concert in the Caesarea amphitheater.

Birthdays

Rabbi of the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, Róbert Frölich turns 60… 

Co-founder and dean of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky turns 101… Professor emerita of history at Columbia University and expert on Japan, Carol Gluck turns 84… Author and senior fellow at USC’s Annenberg School, Morley Winograd turns 83… Accountant and former PwC partner in Phoenix, Steven M. Scheiner, CPA… Former New York state senator, he is a descendant of Rabbi Shmuel Salant, the former Ashkenazic chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Stephen M. Saland turns 82… Sportscaster for “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video, after more than 50 years at NBC and ABC, Al Michaels turns 81… U.S. senator (D-RI), Jack Reed turns 76… Attorney in Brooklyn, Bernard C. Wachsman… Member of the New York state Assembly since 2006, her district includes Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Linda B. Rosenthal turns 68… Author of young-adult fiction and winner of the 2015 National Book Award for Challenger Deep, Neal Shusterman turns 63… Author, journalist and former political advisor to Al Gore and Bill Clinton, Naomi Rebekah Wolf turns 63… University of Chicago professor, he won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, Michael Kremer turns 61… Mayor of Oakland, Calif., until 2023, Elizabeth Beckman “Libby” Schaaf turns 60… Partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis, Sanford E. “Sandy” Perl turns 60… White House chief of staff for the last two years of the Biden administration, Jeffrey Zients turns 59… British journalist and political correspondent for BBC News, Joanne “Jo” Coburn turns 58… Hasidic lecturer with many thousands of followers, Rabbi Avraham Elimelech Biderman turns 58… SVP and general manager of MLB’s Minnesota Twins from 2016 until 2024, Thad Levine turns 54… Member of the Knesset until 2019 for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Robert Ilatov turns 54… Restaurant critic and food writer for the Boston Globe, Devra First turns 53… Israeli fashion model and actress, Nina Brosh turns 50… Former member of the Knesset for the United Torah Judaism party, Eliyahu Hasid turns 49… Campus support director at Hillel International, Aviva Zucker Snyder… Actress best known for her roles on “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” Kelly Kruger turns 44… Co-founder of Purple Acorn, Dave Weinberg… Assistant professor of Jewish studies at Oberlin College, Matthew D. Berkman turns 41… Director of strategic talent initiatives at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Spencer F. Lucker… New Jersey-based primary care physician known as Doctor Mike, he is an internet celebrity on YouTube and Instagram, Mikhail Varshavski turns 36… Activist in the fight against antisemitism throughout the U.S., Adela Cojab turns 29… Catcher in the Washington Nationals organization, Cameron J. Stubbs turns 29…

Good Tuesday afternoon!

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

I’m Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime briefing. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sidestepped a question about Israel’s right to exist during an interview with the anti-Israel media outlet Zeteo last week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. 

Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan asked El-Sayed how he would respond if and when he faces questions on the campaign trail about whether he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Pressed after initially dodging the question, El-Sayed said, “Israel exists. Palestine doesn’t. And so I always wonder why nobody asks me why Palestine doesn’t have a right to exist.”

El-Sayed also dismissed AIPAC donors as “MAGA billionaires throwing their money around to try to dictate the outcome for a Democratic primary,” though AIPAC has not yet endorsed a candidate in the Michigan Senate race…

Chi Ossé, a far-left Gen Z New York City councilman, is planning to launch a primary challenge to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), The New York Times reports, despite discouragement from his ideological ally, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who clinched Jeffries’ endorsement shortly before the general election. Ossé’s insistence on running reportedly caused him to be disinvited from Mamdani’s election night party… 

Elsewhere in New York, Bruce Blakeman, the first Jewish executive of Nassau County who just won reelection last week, is considering mounting a bid for governor, he told Politico, where he would face off against Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in the GOP primary. Both are allies of President Donald Trump; Blakeman said he “told [Trump] that I was interested, and he didn’t discourage me. And I think he’s had the same conversation with Elise. I think the president is going to play it out and see what happens at the convention”…

Also throwing her hat in the ring, former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), a moderate Jewish Democrat with a strong pro-Israel record, plans to launch a comeback campaign tomorrow, Punchbowl reports. Luria would likely be the front-runner in the already crowded Democratic primary to win back Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District from Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), who defeated her in 2022…

Ron Dermer, Israel’s minister of strategic affairs and longtime advisor and confidante to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, resigned from his post today after three years in the role, JI’s Tamara Zieve reports. “This government will be remembered both for the October 7 attack and for its management of the two-year, seven-front war that followed,” Dermer wrote in his resignation letter. Israeli media had reported for months that Dermer’s departure was expected.

Dermer has led Israel’s ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations since February and is expected to stay on as Netanyahu’s envoy to continue handling the future of the Gaza portfolio, political sources recently told JI… 

The State Department denied reports today that White House advisor Jared Kushner met with Gaza militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab to discuss ceasefire issues including dozens of Hamas terrorists still “stuck” in tunnels on the Israeli side of the ceasefire lines, though U.S. officials told Axios Kushner did speak with Netanyahu about the issue during their meeting in Jerusalem yesterday, and is eager to resolve it without impact on the next phase of the deal…

Saudi Arabia is set to host a U.S.-Saudi investment summit in Washington next Wednesday, a day after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House. An invite obtained by CBS News shows the event taking place at the Kennedy Center, co-hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment and the U.S.-Saudi Business Council…

An undated letter from Houthi Chief of Staff Yusuf Hassan al-Madani to Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades indicates that the Yemeni terror group has halted its attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea amid the ongoing ceasefire: “We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,” the letter reads…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an analysis on congressional redistricting efforts and additional reporting on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s Washington meetings.

The International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries kicks off tomorrow, drawing 6,200 rabbis from 111 countries to New York City.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama will appear at Washington’s Sixth & I Synagogue tomorrow evening to discuss her forthcoming book, The Look.

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Sponsored by Robert Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance, Hillel International and the United Negro College Fund, the event brought together over 100 students in an effort to rebuild the Black-Jewish alliance of the Civil Rights Movement

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PEACEKEEPING PROSPECTS

Concerns in Israel as U.S. seeks United Nations mandate for international force in Gaza

Israeli experts are pessimistic about the effectiveness and safety of a U.N.-led force, given Israel’s experience with similar mandates in the past

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Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sidestepped a question about Israel’s right to exist during an interview with the anti-Israel media outlet Zeteo last week.

Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan asked El-Sayed how he would respond if and when he faces questions on the campaign trail about whether he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. El-Sayed initially responded by calling the question hypocritical and again dodged when pressed.

He said that most U.S. presidents have expressed support for a two-state solution, and “Israel exists. Palestine doesn’t. And so I always wonder why nobody asks me why Palestine doesn’t have a right to exist.”

El-Sayed accused the U.S. of supporting “the very people in Israel who want to foreclose on the possibility of Palestine existing.”

“And so to me, frankly, it is about our principles and how we apply them evenly. If you believe in a two-state solution, then what are you doing to make it possible?” he continued.

He went on to note his own childhood experiences in Egypt, which is the second largest recipient of U.S. military aid, and said that aid hasn’t benefited the Egyptian people, suggesting the U.S. should not be providing any foreign military aid anywhere.

“My position on this has always been … it’s not about conditioning aid. I think under no condition should we be sending the money that should be buying our kids’ schools or healthcare or infrastructure to a foreign military to buy them tanks,” he continued. “And that we can start with Egypt. We go to Pakistan, we can go to Jordan, we go to Saudi Arabia and we go to Israel. I just think it’s about principle.”

El-Sayed also dismissed AIPAC donors as “MAGA billionaires throwing their money around to try to dictate the outcome for a Democratic primary.”

“I think Michiganders are sick and tired of being told who they can and cannot vote for in Michigan,” he said.

On the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks on Israel, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, sent a fundraising email to supporters that criticized Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza while ignoring the Hamas attack that precipitated it.

“Two years ago this month, Netanyahu’s military launched a ground invasion of Gaza,” the email begins. It does not mention Hamas, the Oct. 7 attacks or the ongoing hostage situation in any capacity, despite the date on which it was sent and the fact that the Israeli invasion of Gaza took place weeks after Oct. 7.

The email goes on to blame pro-Israel financial support to politicians for the continuation of the war.

“It has continued because politicians in both parties have chosen to send billions of our tax dollars to fund this senseless war — instead of demanding an immediate ceasefire,” the email continues. “And If you’re asking yourself, “Why on Earth are politicians in Washington continuing to add fuel to the fire?” the answer is money. AIPAC is funneling millions into campaigns in exchange for loyalty.”

El-Sayed issued a separate statement from his campaign account earlier in the day.

“All children deserve lives unburdened by hate, war, guns, bombs, kidnapping, or murder. All people deserve equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination,” the statement reads. “Hamas violated these principles in its heinous attack on October 7th. They killed 1,200 people and took dozens of hostages, many of whom have yet to be released. I condemned it then, and I condemn it now.”

The statement goes on to condemn Israel for committing “genocide on Gaza with our tax dollars” and demand that “international law must be enforced and those who have broken it must be brought to justice. And our government must stop sending blank checks to foreign militaries who violate it.”

An El-Sayed spokesperson said Wednesday that the Tuesday email “mistakenly went out yesterday” and that El-Sayed “has been clear and consistent: he holds equally valuable the lives of all innocent people and condemns violence against them.”

Michigan state Rep. Noah Arbit, a Jewish Democrat, said that the comments were “repugnant.”

“Abdul El-Sayed has demonstrated that he has a complete disregard not only for Israeli lives but for Jewish life, and completely disqualified himself from serving as U.S. Senator for MI. As a State Representative, I call on Michiganders to reject this bigoted campaign,” he said. “Fundraising off the anniversary of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, while 48 Jews are still captive in the bowels of hell in Gaza is akin to dancing in the gas chambers of Auschwitz.”

Arbit demanded an “an unconditional, immediate apology” to Michigan’s Jewish community. He said that the campaign’s assertion that the email had gone out mistakenly was insufficient.

“Mistakenly, but not accidentally,” he said Wednesday. “[El Sayed] owes an apology to Michigan’s Jewish community. This has nothing to do with legitimate criticisms of a country’s government or military and everything to do with dancing on the anniversary of a massacre.

El-Sayed is running in a hotly-contested Democratic primary for the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI). He is facing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), the favorite of party leaders who has been a supporter of Israel and outspoken voice against antisemitism during her Congressional career. 

Also running is state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who has sounded increasingly hostile towards the Jewish state as her campaign has progressed. On Monday, she said she considered Israel’s war in Gaza as a “genocide” — comments her campaign immediately promoted to Politico.

McMorrow condemned El-Sayed’s fundraising email.

“To send a fundraising pitch on October 7th without mentioning, much less condemning, Hamas and their horrific terrorist attack is beyond tone deaf,” McMorrow said. “It is fair to be critical of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. I have been. But sending a fundraising email on the two year anniversary that completely ignores the atrocities committed by Hamas was wrong and brings us no closer to a goal we all should share: releasing the hostages and ending the violence.”

Republicans view the Michigan Senate race as one of their top pickup opportunities, and have coalesced behind former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in last year’s Senate contest.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, responded to the news by saying, “Abdul El-Sayed doesn’t just oppose Chuck Schumer as Senate Democrats’ leader, he opposes Schumer’s right to exist,” presumably referring to the fact that Schumer is Jewish.