Overview
- On the second anniversary of the 2023 Hamas attack, Abdul El-Sayed sent a fundraising email that criticized Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza, cited high Palestinian casualty figures, and accused AIPAC of fueling the war, without mentioning Hamas or Israeli victims.
- The email text, circulated via a screenshot posted by Politico reporter Nicholas Wu, described the invasion as unconscionable and wrong and said El-Sayed is among the few Senate candidates willing to call the Gaza war a genocide.
- El-Sayed’s campaign separately issued a statement condemning Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, asserting, “I condemned it then, and I condemn it now,” while also alleging Israel is committing genocide and urging enforcement of international law and a halt to “blank checks” for foreign militaries.
- Jewish and Democratic critics denounced the fundraising message for ignoring Israeli and Jewish victims, with Michigan state Rep. Noah Arbit calling it repugnant and demanding an immediate, unconditional apology.
- Republicans seized on the dispute, as NRSC chair Sen. Tim Scott issued a blistering statement, and the controversy now looms over a competitive primary that includes Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow; a campaign spokeswoman said the email mistakenly went out, according to Wu.