Right after winning the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed sparked controversy yesterday during a campaign event after pairing warm words for the Jewish people with a sharp attack on Israel.
“I love Judaism, and I love the Jewish people,” El-Sayed said. “AIPAC and Israel are not synonymous with Judaism and the Jewish people. I call that nonsense.”
Abdul El-Sayed just delivered the most “anti-Semitic” – statement of the Michigan Senate primary:
“I love Judaism, and I love the Jewish people. AIPAC and Israel are not the same as Judaism and the Jewish people. I call bullsh*t.” pic.twitter.com/sbJLks3XMd
— Ounka (@OunkaOnX) August 5, 2026
Political analysts in the United States point to Michigan’s large Arab American community as the driving force behind El-Sayed’s primary victory. The community has become a significant political bloc in the state and includes many voters with strong anti-Israel views. Analysts say the result could have major implications for the future direction of the Democratic Party and intensify debate over the growing influence of its anti-Israel wing ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
President Donald Trump responded to El-Sayed’s victory by calling it “great news for the Republican Party.”
“El-Sayed, the communist loser who hates Jews and Israel, is the expected winner in his race against the socialist,” Trump wrote. “As usual, the polls were way off. They didn’t expect her to do nearly as well as she did. Now the Democrats’ insane policies are only going to get worse.”
Trump on Abdul El-Sayed:
He doesn’t love Israel. He doesn’t love Jewish people. He hates them with a passion that burns in his heart, and there is not a thing he can do about it.
He hates them. pic.twitter.com/2p9vPG3v4D
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 5, 2026
Trump later escalated his criticism even further. “Abdul El-Sayed is a man full of hate. He doesn’t love Israel. He doesn’t love Jews. He hates them with a passion that burns in his heart. There’s nothing he can do about it, because he hates them.”
With Zohran Mamdani’s rise already fueling concerns among many Jewish New Yorkers about the growing influence of anti-Israel voices within the Democratic Party, El-Sayed’s victory is likely to deepen those fears. For many observers, the question is no longer whether this trend exists—but how far it will spread ahead of the 2028 election.
El-Sayed’s remarks are likely to fuel an already intensifying debate over whether hostility toward Israel has become an increasingly accepted feature of Democratic politics—and whether separating support for Jews from attacks on the Jewish state is a distinction many voters are still willing to accept.