Facing skepticism from Jewish Democrats over his candidacy, Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, apologized Saturday for a March comment about a synagogue attack near Detroit. "Nobody deserves to have their pain trampled on," he told the group, The New York Times reported.
A truck-ramming attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., injured a guard back in March and was called a targeted act against Jews by authorities; soon afterward, El-Sayed issued a video statement saying "hurt people hurt people" – language he has since said he regrets.
Responding to a question from the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus at a Lansing party convention, El-Sayed admitted, "I made a mistake." He continued, "I should have issued a statement, of course, condemning it, and it just should have been the full stop."
"Offer broader context" was how El-Sayed described his intent behind the March statement when he addressed the Jewish Caucus. Still, he conceded that his words had trampled on "the dignity that fear and that pain should have been afforded," inadvertently. "If my statement caused pain, I'm sorry. That was not what I intended," he added.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, identified by authorities as the man who carried out the synagogue attack, is a naturalized US citizen born in Lebanon who had reportedly lost family in an Israeli strike in March. His original statement, El-Sayed said, had stressed there was "never a justification for attacking innocent people," while also describing "violence" as "a cycle" and repeating that "hurt people hurt people."
Because his Senate race could determine control of the chamber, El-Sayed's comments came at a politically fraught moment. Pressure has also mounted from Jewish Democrats demanding he condemn Hasan Piker, a streamer whose incendiary remarks about Israel came alongside a primary-season alliance with El-Sayed.
Yet he stopped short of disavowing Piker even as he apologized – a stance that has become a flashpoint in Democrats' broader Israel debate and drawn rebukes from other prominent party officials. Many Jewish Democrats at the convention accepted the apology but said their unease about the Piker connection had not gone away.
Scrutiny of El-Sayed's relationship with Mr. Piker has only intensified, according to The New York Times, following the streamer's warning earlier this month that Jewish Americans could face threats tied to their views on Israel.
