More than 600 Michigan Jews supported El-Sayed in Senate election — Jerusalem Post
More than 600 Jews in the US state of Michigan signed an open letter pledging to vote for Democratic Party candidate Abdul El-Sayed in the US Senate election. The initiative is called Michigan Jews for Democracy. This was reported by the Jerusalem Post.
Letter signatories
The signatories include former US House of Representatives members Sander and Andy Levin, attorney general candidate Eli Savit, Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus chair Deki Alexander, Detroit Jews for Justice executive director Lisa Tencer, and former Uncommitted movement organizer Eleanor Hamalski. All of them signed in their personal capacities.
The letter was also signed by Rabbi Alana Alpert of the Reconstructionist T’chiyah community in Ferndale, Rabbi Nate DeGroot, who serves communities in Jackson and Flint, and retired cantor Annie Rose of the Reform Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor. The initiative was joined by University of Michigan Jewish studies professor Deborah Moore and journalist Danny Fenster, who was held in a prison in Myanmar for five months in 2021.
Differences over Israel
The letter’s authors noted that some of them actively support El-Sayed, while others have reservations. They pointed to differences with the candidate on important issues, including certain aspects of his approach to Israel and the rhetoric of some of his allies. The letter emphasized that they view voting as a strategic decision rather than unconditional support for the candidate.
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El-Sayed’s campaign circulated the letter on Thursday morning. According to the publication, the candidate has sought in recent months to build relations with the state’s Jewish voters. His rejection of the two-state concept, as well as previous controversies surrounding streamer Hasan Piker, whom the publication describes as anti-Israel, and El-Sayed’s responses to the attack on Temple Israel in the Detroit area, have made his candidacy polarizing for part of the community.
Other voter appeals
In Michigan, signatures are also being collected for a letter supporting El-Sayed’s Republican Party opponent, former US House of Representatives member Mike Rogers. Since August, it has collected 478 signatures. Another initiative calls on El-Sayed to respond to a list of Jewish “non-negotiable” demands, including Jewish sovereignty in Israel.
The Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus has not officially endorsed El-Sayed, despite its chair’s signature on the new letter. The Jewish Democratic Council of America has also not endorsed the candidate.
