El-Sayed apologizes to Jewish Democrats for synagogue attack comment

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed apologized Saturday for comments he made following an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue earlier this year, as he seeks to ease concerns among Jewish voters ahead of the November election.

“I made a mistake,” El-Sayed said during an appearance before the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus at the state party’s convention in Lansing on Saturday. “I should have issued a statement, of course condemning it, and it just should have been the full stop.”

El-Sayed was referring to his response to a March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township in Michigan, where authorities say a man intentionally drove a truck into the synagogue and injured a security guard to deliberately target Jewish people.

In his initial response, El-Sayed said there was “never a justification for attacking innocent people,” but also said “violence is a cycle,” and used the phrase “hurt people hurt people.”

According to authorities, the attacker, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Lebanon, had lost family members in an Israeli attack in Lebanon earlier that month.

El-Sayed told the group of Jewish Democrats on Saturday that he had been trying to provide broader context but acknowledged that doing so in the immediate aftermath of the attack was a mistake.

“If my statement caused pain, I’m sorry,” he said. “That was not what I intended.”

El-Sayed has faced broader scrutiny over his stance on Israel and Gaza, as well as his relationship with political commentators that are critical of Israel.

He distanced himself from left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who joined him on the campaign trail during the Democratic primary, drew outrage from a slate of Democratic lawmakers over Piker’s comments about American Jews supporting Israel.

Piker said that if American Jews continue promoting the idea that they are “singularly invested in Israel,” someone could eventually “take action” against American Jews.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called the remarks “dangerous and antisemitic,” while El-Sayed said he has “no plans” to campaign with Piker during the general election.