Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is making a predictable move after apologizing for his comments in response to an anti-Jewish attack on a synagogue. His campaign is hiring a Jewish liaison to mend bridges with the Jewish community.
The attack took place in March when a man rammed his truck into the building and opened fire with a rifle. Fortunately, nobody was killed or injured in the attack.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency:
His outreach to Jewish voters will soon become even more pronounced. The campaign intends to hire a Jewish liaison and is in the midst of an interview process for the role, which includes talking with Jewish community leaders, a person familiar with the campaign told JTA.
With El-Sayed’s narrow primary victory, and Michigan’s increasing centrality in the fight for control of the Senate, the state’s approximately 100,000 Jewish voters — the majority of whom have historically voted Democrat — find themselves under the microscope as they weigh voting for a candidate who supports zeroing out all aid to Israel. Following his Summer Simcha speech, El-Sayed stayed to speak with a long line of Jews who came up to share their concerns.
Asked later what he’s heard from the Jews who speak to him, he told JTA, “I hear a lot about safety, and folks want to know that they’re going to be safe.”
He added, “The prerequisite of Jewish safety is never in question to me, and I just want to make that very, very clear.”
El-Sayed’s “campaign intends to hire a Jewish liaison and is in the midst of an interview process for the role, which includes talking with Jewish community leaders, a person familiar with the campaign told JTA” https://t.co/mmYGzE656E
— Matthew Kassel (@matthewkassel) August 31, 2026
After the attack, El-Sayed condemned the suspect’s actions. But he also noted that the alleged assailant was upset because his family was killed during the war between Israel and Lebanon and said, “hurt people hurt people.”
Reflecting on the attack at Temple Israel. pic.twitter.com/u9p4BwdzoA
— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) March 13, 2026
Many criticized these remarks, accusing him of justifying the attack.
While addressing Michigan’s Jewish Democratic Caucus on Saturday, he noted that his comments “may have been misconstrued to justify something I did not mean to justify.”
“To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m really sorry,” he continued. “That was not my intention.”
Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee, slammed El-Sayed, saying he “has had six months to apologize for his incredibly horrific remarks regarding the Temple Israel attack” and that “Instead, he chose to surround himself with terrorist sympathizers and some of the most notable antisemites in the country.”
New data from an Epic-MRA survey published on Monday suggests Abdul El-Sayed holds a four-point advantage over Mike Rogers, with 47 percent to Rogers’ 43 percent. The poll also showed that approximately 10 percent of the electorate is still undecided or has not yet declared a choice.
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