Jewish Voter Guide
Abdul El-Sayed
U.S. Senate · MI · Democrat
Summary
Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee in Michigan's 2026 U.S. Senate election and will face Republican nominee Mike Rogers.
Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee in Michigan's 2026 U.S. Senate election. He is sharply critical of the Israeli government and has described Israel's conduct in Gaza as genocide. In 2026 reporting, El-Sayed said he would withdraw both offensive and defensive U.S. military aid to Israel, characterized the Israeli government as being as evil as Hamas, described Israeli policy as apartheid, and rebuffed the premise that Israel has a right to exist specifically as a Jewish state, arguing that such a definition is incompatible with equal rights. His public record therefore reflects opposition to the current structure of U.S. military support for Israel rather than support for the traditional U.S.-Israel security relationship.
El-Sayed has repeatedly condemned antisemitism. After the March 2026 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, he said Jewish people have an absolute right to worship and live safely without fear. His follow up remarks, which invoked Israel's war in Lebanon and included the phrase "hurt people hurt people," drew sustained criticism from Jewish leaders. On August 29 and 30, 2026, addressing Michigan's Jewish Democratic Caucus, El-Sayed apologized for those remarks and said "I made a mistake," while maintaining that his intent had been to offer context.
The record
Positions come from public votes, statements and on-the-record interviews. Every claim links to its source. No aggregate score or grade.
Support for a Strong U.S.-Israel Alliance
- El-Sayed has called Israel's conduct in Gaza genocide and has said he would withdraw both offensive and defensive U.S. military aid to Israel. Forward reported that he rejected the premise that continued U.S. military support is necessary to maintain the bilateral relationship, and that he characterized the Israeli government as being as evil as Hamas and rebuffed questions about whether Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state.
Source
Condemning and Combating Terrorism
- El-Sayed has said he condemned Hamas from the outset and has acknowledged that Hamas committed war crimes on October 7. He has typically paired these statements with the assertion that the Israeli government also committed war crimes, and in interviews he described the Israeli government as being as evil as Hamas.
Source
Response to Hamas's October 7 Attack
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In a statement posted to his campaign account on the second anniversary in October 2025, he condemned Hamas's October 7 attack, acknowledged that it killed roughly 1,200 people and took dozens of hostages, many not yet released, and said he condemned it then and condemns it now. The same statement condemned Israel's subsequent conduct as genocide and called for an end to U.S. military funding, and it did not affirm an Israeli right to respond militarily.
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Separately, a fundraising email sent by his campaign on the same anniversary made no mention of Hamas or the October 7 attack and instead focused on and criticized Israel's military campaign. His campaign said the email had gone out mistakenly and stated that El- Sayed holds the lives of all innocent people as equally valuable. The omission drew criticism from Michigan Democrats, including McMorrow.
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Fighting Antisemitism
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During the Democratic primary, El-Sayed closely associated himself and campaigned with the streamer Hasan Piker, despite the concerns of the Jewish community in Michigan about Piker’s history of inflammatory and antisemitic statements.
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After the March 2026 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, El-Sayed said there was no justification for antisemitism or violence and affirmed Jewish people's right to worship and live safely.
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Some Jewish leaders criticized El-Sayed for remarks contextualizing the attacker's anger while he simultaneously condemned the attack.
Protecting Jewish Institutions and Communities
- Following the Temple Israel attack, El-Sayed emphasized that Jewish people must be able to worship safely and that attacks on Jewish religious institutions are unacceptable.
Source
Standing Against Political Extremism
- El-Sayed has condemned antisemitic violence and rhetoric, but no broader federal policy on political extremism as defined by this guide was identified.
Engagement with the Jewish Community
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Forward reported that El-Sayed visited Congregation T'chiyah, participated in a Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus candidate forum, and attended other Jewish-community events during the 2026 campaign.
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As of early September 2026, more than 400 Jewish Michiganders, including some in prominent community roles, had signed a petition pledging to vote for Republican Mike Rogers, reflecting continued skepticism among parts of the community despite El-Sayed's outreach.
Sources
A note on methodology. This guide is published as an educational reference. The American Jewish Congress does not endorse candidates and does not publish aggregate scores. If you spot a position that needs an update or a better source, please reach the office.