Tipsheet

Let's Check in on the Michigan Democrats in Disarray Over Calling Out Antisemitism

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  September 23, 2024 7:30 PM

Michigan has been in the news quite a bit, as a key battleground state for the 2024 election that is looking to be particularly close and competitive. While Vice President Kamala Harris may have the edge there, it comes as she looks to appeal to the anti-Israel base. Michigan Democrats also look to be in disarray over supporting Israel and calling out antisemitism, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) not appearing very comfortable about being caught in the middle of it.

On Sunday, Whitmer made headlines for her appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," with Jewish Insider noting "Gov. Whitmer declines to back Michigan attorney general for prosecuting anti-Israel protesters."

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, also a Democrat, made moves to prosecute students at the University of Michigan, where attacks on Jewish students have been investigated as incidents of "bias-motivated assault." Students there are also accused of assaulting police, ethnic intimidation, and other alleged crimes, which is where Nessel comes in.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a particularly anti-Israel member of the already anti-Israel Squad, has taken issue with such a move over X and in an interview with the Detroit Metro Times, where she brought partisan politics into it and claimed Nessel faced pressure from the university.

"This is a move that’s going to set a precedent, and it’s unfortunate that a Democrat made that move," Tlaib said. "You would expect that from a Republican, but not a Democrat, and it’s really unfortunate." One would hope that there would be a precedent of holding anti-Israel agitators who break the law accountable. 

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"I think people at the University of Michigan put pressure on her to do this, and she fell for it," Tlaib also claimed about Nessel. "I think President Ono and Board of Regent members were very much heavy-handed in this. It had to come from somewhere."

Nessel took to her X account to call out the congresswoman for such a move, while also taking issue with a political cartoon about Tlaib, though she brought Tlaib's faith up to defend Tlaib in a way. It's worth pointing out that the cartoon was about criticizing Tlaib over her politics rather than being a Muslim.

That Nessel is Jewish also came up during Whitmer's exchange with host Jake Tapper on Sunday. The governor failed to back up her attorney general, and in a shameful but not exactly surprising move, tried to have it both ways.

"Your state's attorney general, Dana Nessel, charged almost a dozen individuals from the University of Michigan over the anti-Israel protests, among the charges, attempted ethnic intimidation, assaulting or obstructing a police officer, and on and on," Tapper explained to broach the topic with Whitmer. "These are pro-Palestinian protesters who are being punished and prosecuted. Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian, she called the charges from Nessel, who is Jewish, shameful," is how he went on to categorize it.

He also quoted Tlaib as claiming that "it seems that the attorney general decided, if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs," and Nessel as saying that "Rashida Tlaib should not use my religion to imply I cannot perform my job fairly as attorney general. It's antisemitic and wrong."

When Tapper directly asked the governor "do you think that Tlaib's suggestion that Nessel's office is biased was antisemitic," not only could she not answer, but she tried to make it a both sides issue from the start. 

"All I can say is that I know that our Jewish community is in pain, as is our Palestinian and Muslim and Arab communities in Michigan," she offered. "I know that seeing the incredible toll that this war has taken on both communities has been really, really challenging and difficult, and my heart breaks for so many."

It's of course reminding that "this war" was started almost a year ago, after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, brutally slaughtering 1,200 Israelis. Hamas also took part in rape, torture, and kidnapping, with many hostages still in captivity. 

"But, as governor, my job is to make sure that both these communities are protected and respected under the law in Michigan, and that's exactly what I'm going to stay focused on," she continued as part of her non-answer.

Tapper continued to push. "But do you think Attorney General Nessel is not doing her job? Because Congresswoman Tlaib is suggesting that she shouldn't be prosecuting these individuals that Nessel says broke the law, and that she's only doing it because she's Jewish and the protesters are not. That's quite an accusation," he pointed out. "Do you think it's true?"

While Whitmer was more clear in her response this time, it was over how she did not want to get involved.  "Like I said, Jake, I'm not going to get in the middle of this argument that they're having," she offered. 

"I can just say this. We do want to make sure that students are safe on our campuses, and we recognize that every person has the right to make their statement about how they feel about an issue, a right to speak out, and I'm going to use every lever of mine to ensure that both are true," she continued, again trying to go for a both sides moment.

Tapper moved onto another topic at that point.

With Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) also appearing on the program, CNN at least had on a guest whose support for Israel stood in stark contrast to that of Michigan Democrats.

Cotton reminded Tapper of the failures of the Biden-Harris administration to properly stand by our ally in the Middle East, as well as pointed out how antisemitism is coming from the left. 

Tapper also shared a statement from Whitmer to his X account on Monday following that episode of "State of the Union."

While it may be something of a welcoming statement from Whitmer, such a post from Tapper, shared over 24 hours after the show aired, does not mention why the governor couldn't just communicate as much on air. There's also plenty of what Whitmer still did not address, as National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru highlighted.