El-Sayed Says Israel Doesn't Care About America

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, has questioned whether Israel is truly an American ally, and signaled that a change of government in Jerusalem would not necessarily change his view.

In an interview with MS NOW published Thursday, El-Sayed was asked whether his objections were limited to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I mean, I think we've got to get serious, right?" he said. "Netanyahu is one part of it, but the Israeli military has done heinous things, like heinous things, full war crimes, genocide. So I think we got to just get serious about whether or not we as a country should be subsidizing that government."

El-Sayed accused Israel of misusing American aid and of drawing the United States into the war with Iran, which he blamed for higher gas and grocery prices. "Right now, that government has done terrible things with our money in their name, they pulled us into a war we had no business fighting," he said. "So, to me, an ally is somebody who cares about you and you care about them. I don't think they care about us. That's what I've seen."

Pressed on whether Netanyahu's defeat in Israel's October 27 election would change his position, El-Sayed said only that he would wait and see who Israelis chose as their next prime minister.

The remarks are likely to deepen concern among Jewish voters in a closely watched race against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters. El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected, said in the interview that he is committed to the safety of Michigan's Jewish community, and argued that he and Jewish Democrats share common ground on issues such as reproductive rights and democracy.

His positions on Israel have repeatedly drawn criticism during the campaign. After winning the primary in August, he told MS NOW's "Morning Joe" that Israel had "conducted a genocide" and "at baseline done apartheid." Last month, he declined to give a yes-or-no answer when asked whether the United States should recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

He also faced backlash over his response to the March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. While condemning the attack, he said "hurt people do hurt people" and that events "6,000 miles away" can affect life at home. A local rabbi criticized him for suggesting that violence against a synagogue could be understood through the lens of Israeli actions.