Rogers says El-Sayed holds anti-Jewish views — Jerusalem Post
Michigan Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers said that his Democratic Party opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, holds anti-Jewish views. Rogers cited the Democrat’s critical remarks about Israel as grounds for this assessment, including his statement on ABC that Israel “is not really our friend.” The Jerusalem Post reports.
Rogers said that Israel is the United States’ best ally in the Middle East. He said that El-Sayed’s numerous statements leave him with no doubt about his opponent’s attitude toward Jews. El-Sayed also previously told MS NOW that the Israeli government had “done nothing but use us.”
Battle for Jewish community votes
The election for Michigan’s open Senate seat is due to take place in two weeks, and its outcome could affect control of the Senate after the midterm elections. Rogers is seeking support from the state’s Jewish community, estimated at about 100,000 adults.
His campaign is holding meetings with rabbis and community representatives. Hundreds of Jews, including prominent community figures and longtime Democratic Party supporters, signed a letter backing Rogers. Rabbi Asher Lopatin, who temporarily stepped away from his work with Jewish communities in Ann Arbor, also joined the campaigning.
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U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance also criticized El-Sayed at a rally in Michigan. He said that the Democrat pays more attention to events in Palestine and Gaza than to the problems of the state’s cities.
El-Sayed’s and Democrats’ position
El-Sayed rejected accusations of antisemitism. He said that he loves Judaism and also stressed that AIPAC and Israel are not synonymous with Judaism and the Jewish people. The candidate also denied ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and accused those raising the issue of using Islamophobic stereotypes.
The Democratic candidate was supported, among others, by Senator Elissa Slotkin and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. At the same time, some Jewish activists who have reservations about El-Sayed’s rhetoric still oppose Rogers because of the Republican Party’s policies toward immigrants and LGBTQ people.
According to federal election filings, the AIPAC-affiliated political action committee United Democracy Project spent about $95,000 on mailers against El-Sayed targeting Jewish voters.
