A coalition of Michigan Jewish leaders has launched a petition campaign calling on Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and other candidates to make clear commitments on Jewish safety, Israel and the role of Jewish voters in American political life.
The petition, launched Tuesday, does not specifically name El-Sayed but comes as the former Michigan health official works to unite Democrats and broaden his support ahead of his November matchup with Republican nominee Mike Rogers. More than a dozen rabbis and Jewish leaders have signed onto the effort. (CBS News)
“It is about Dr. El-Sayed, and it’s also about a bigger issue going on in our politics right now. I think the American Jewish community is feeling squeezed from both sides of the political spectrum,” Rabbi Josh Whinston, one of the rabbis leading the petition, told CBS News.
El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination last month after a contentious primary in which his criticism of the Israeli government and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, became a central issue.
El-Sayed has rejected the suggestion that criticism of Israel or AIPAC amounts to criticism of Jewish people. Speaking to NBC News last month, he said, “I love and revere Judaism and the Jewish people. I believe they are a light unto the world … but they are not the same as AIPAC and Israel.”
The petition comes as El-Sayed turns his attention to the general election against Rogers, a former Republican congressman who narrowly lost to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin in the 2024 Senate race.
While Rogers has spent months preparing for the general election, El-Sayed is facing the task of consolidating Democratic support following a primary campaign that exposed divisions within the party over Israel and other issues.
El-Sayed campaigned on a progressive platform and received endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, had the backing of more moderate Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
During the primary, El-Sayed repeatedly criticized Stevens over financial support from pro-Israel groups, including more than $30 million in outside spending from a group funded by AIPAC.
His campaign has also faced scrutiny over his association with left-wing podcaster Hasan Piker, a vocal critic of Israel whose comments have generated controversy.
El-Sayed drew further criticism after responding to a March attack on a Detroit-area synagogue by saying “hurt people hurt people.” Although he condemned the attack, he later apologized for the comments in August while speaking to the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus at a party convention.
The petition’s organizers say they represent roughly 40,000 Jewish Michiganders and argue that Jewish voters should not be taken for granted by either political party.
“generations, the vast majority of the American Jewish community has proudly voted for, organized with, donated to, and marched in support of the Democratic Party.”
“American Jews now feel forced to fight for the party they long claimed as their political home,” the petition states.
The petition identifies five principles it calls “nonnegotiables” for candidates seeking the support of Michigan’s Jewish community: Jewish safety; the right of Jewish individuals to define their own identities; Jewish sovereignty in Israel; full participation by Jewish Michiganders in American political life; and an “affirmative vision” for a better future in the Middle East. (The Times of Israel)
“Every constituency must occasionally remind its party that support is earned, not owed,” the petition says. “This is a good faith effort to make our needs unmistakably clear, and to invite any candidate seeking public office — now or in the future — to engage, listen, learn, and grow. We have the right to know, plainly, if those seeking our vote are willing to meet our baseline needs.”
Whinston said the effort reflects concerns extending beyond the Michigan Senate contest.
As a Jewish leader, he said he “needed to say something” for the Jewish community and the country as a whole and wanted to “present some clear lines.”
“When a marginalized community feels like it has no political home anymore, that people are starting to feel that way — that is serious,” he said. “Jews don’t want to be there. We don’t want to be in that position. And I am pleading with Dr. El-Sayed to help us be in coalition with him broadly. That’s what we want from the Democratic Party.”
The El-Sayed campaign, asked for a response to the petition, pointed to several recent efforts to engage Jewish voters and leaders. The campaign cited closed-door meetings with prominent Jewish organizations and rabbis, El-Sayed’s attendance at the annual Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus Summer Simcha and his repeated conversations with Slotkin, who is Jewish.
El-Sayed also sought to distance himself from Piker following criticism of the podcaster’s comments about American Jews and Israel.
After Piker drew criticism from Democrats in August after arguing some Jewish Americans’ support for Israel is “making antisemitism worse,” El-Sayed said “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”
“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters. Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk,” El-Sayed said in last month’s statement.
Whinston, however, said during a call with reporters Tuesday that El-Sayed’s recent apology “did not go far enough.”
Whinston acknowledged that he has spoken personally with El-Sayed and said he hopes the two will speak again, although no additional meeting is currently scheduled.
“He’s trying to figure out a way, and I want to figure out a way to help him figure out a way to continue to move the needle in ways that will be meaningful for the Jewish community,” Whinston said. “I think he’s trying to figure it out, but he hasn’t figured it out yet.”
Whinston also acknowledged that El-Sayed has condemned antisemitism but argued that “he then cannot use antisemitic tropes in criticizing the state of Israel.”
He pointed to comments El-Sayed made after winning the Democratic nomination in which he described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the country as being “bloodthirsty under his reign.”
“Countless Jews have died for nearly 1,000 years because we’ve been called bloodthirsty, because we’ve been accused of what is called a blood libel,” Whinston said. “Harkening to that puts us in danger. And when Dr. El-Sayed says that in the morning, and then says in the evening he cares about Jewish safety, I say, no. Those things are worlds apart from each other.”
Rabbi Aaron Starr, president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis, said Jewish leaders have recognized El-Sayed’s efforts to repair relations but believe further steps are necessary.
“we have welcomed Dr. El-Sayed’s attempts at trying to bridge between where he was and where he is,” Starr said, adding that “we hope that there will be another bridge between where he is now and where he can go in the future.”
“Frankly, I hope that Dr. El-Sayed, if he is elected to be our senator, or if Congressman Rogers is elected to be our senator, that they will stand up and that they will condemn violent rhetoric against the Jewish people, violent rhetoric against Israel and its right to exist,” Starr said. “That’s what we’re asking for. We’re asking for someone to step up and be an ally to work toward safety and security and a better life for all Michiganders, including Jewish Michiganders.”
The dispute comes as Michigan’s Senate race is expected to be closely watched nationally because of its potential implications for control of the Senate. Democrats need to gain four seats while defending vulnerable seats to take the majority, according to current Senate calculations. Michigan has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1994, while President Donald Trump carried the state by less than two percentage points in 2024.
The Senate contest opened after Democratic Sen. Gary Peters decided not to seek reelection and is regarded as one of the more competitive races of the 2026 cycle. (AP News)
Starr said many members of his congregation remain undecided about the November election.
“we’re going to be listening to every word he says, and we’ll be listening to every word that Congressman Rogers says as well.”
Whinston, whose congregation is located in Ann Arbor, similarly said some members remain uncertain about their political choices.
“Rabbi, I don’t know what I’m going to do in November,” congregants have told him, he said, adding that many feel “politically homeless.”
“Lots of people are feeling that way, and we don’t want to be,” Whinston said. “We want to be at the table, and we want his campaign and the Democratic Party to help get us to the table.”
