Democratic candidate for US Senate Abdul El-Sayed waits to speak to the press about rising gas prices outside a gas station in Detroit, Michigan, US, Sept. 22, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Abdul El-Sayed, progressive Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, refused to affirm that Iran poses a greater threat to the United States than Israel during a debate with Republican Mike Rogers on Thursday, sparking fresh backlash from allies of the Jewish state.

Asked to compare the threats posed by the two countries, El-Sayed declined to identify Iran as the greater danger, criticizing the moderator for asking a “ridiculous question” and saying both nations had “proven dangerous in their own way.” Rather than directly address the threat posed by Tehran’s regime, he focused on opposing American military involvement and foreign assistance.

Here’s what’s happening right now: our ostensible ally in Israel has lobbied us to go to war with Iran,” El-Sayed, said, “We have watched as Iran has responded by bombing all kinds of countries in the Middle East and then choking off the world’s energy supply.”

“This is a situation in which I don’t think we should be a part [of],” he continued. “I want our money spent here to buy schools and health care and child care here.”

Conversely, Rogers positioned himself as a staunch ally of Israel, saying that there was little the Jewish state could do to lose his support outside of using nuclear weapons. He further criticized El-Sayed for refusing to issue a statement commemorating the Oct. 7 massacres across southern Israel, repudiating that the progressive “could not bring himself to even acknowledge the pain, the terrorism, the rape, the murders.”

“I support just staunchly, their right to exist, the right to exist for the Jewish state and the right to defend itself in a very difficult neighborhood,” Rogers stated. “And if you think about why my opponent is so wrong on all of this, his biggest funders are from a group that supports the Muslim Brotherhood. He gets money from people who support openly Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda.”

Iran’s government has spent decades supporting armed groups across the Middle East, including Hezbollah and Hamas, while pursuing regional influence and threatening Israel. Tehran has also engaged in direct military confrontation with Israel and has been a central adversary of successive U.S. administrations.

Israel, by contrast, is a longstanding American partner with extensive intelligence and security ties to Washington. The two countries cooperate on missile defense, counterterrorism and efforts to contain Iranian military capabilities. Nonetheless, the ongoing war in Gaza has stressed the relationship with Israel and the US foreign policy establishment. Polls indicate that views of Israel among the Democratic establishment have cratered, creating increased opportunities for anti-Israel politicians such as El-Sayed to ascend into powerful offices.

El-Sayed, a physician and former Wayne County health official, has accused Israel of genocide and apartheid, called it a “rogue state,” and argued that its government and the Hamas terrorist organization are both “evil.” He has also questioned US support for maintaining Israel as a specifically Jewish state.

El-Sayed has campaigned alongside left-wing political streamer Hasan Piker, who endorsed his candidacy and appeared with him at events in Michigan. During one such appearance, El-Sayed denounced the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and accused it of influencing lawmakers to support the war against Iran.

El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary in August and is now running against Rogers for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. The contest has attracted national attention as Democrats seek to defend the seat.

Rogers, a former congressman and the Republican nominee, has attempted to portray himself as a strident supporter of Israel. He has aggressively courted Jewish voters, pointing to El-Sayed’s antipathy towards Israel and his repeated controversial and offensive remarks.

Moreover, El-Sayed has incensed local Jewish community members after he downplayed the attempted massacre of Jewish children at the Temple Israel synagogue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan back in March. He reportedly hesitated to comment on the attack, arguing that many citizens of Dearborn, Michigan, a heavily Arab-American city, support the Hezbollah terrorist group. In a subsequent interview, El-Sayed sidestepped a full-throated condemnation of the attack, stating that “hurt people, hurt people.” After winning the primary, he apologized for the remarks, saying that he wishes he would walk the comments “all the way back.”

According to recordings acquired by the Washington Free Beacon, El-Sayed expressed hesitance to comment on the killing of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, citing the substantial level of support he maintains in Dearborn.

“There are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today, so, like, I just don’t want to comment on Khamenei at all,” he wrote.

El-Sayed’s reluctance to criticize Iran resurfaced last month when he refused to express solidarity with anti-regime Iranian protesters when confronted last month by an activist at a campaign town-hall. When pressed, he stated generalized support for ” democratic movements” but distanced himself from the movement against the Iranian government, saying that the future of the country should be decided, “by the people of Iran, coming together as a community to decide how to create democratic change in their society.”

The debate over El-Sayed has increasingly fractured Michigan’s Jewish community, including voters who have traditionally supported Democratic candidates. More than 400 Michigan Jews have signed a separate petition pledging to support Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers over El-Sayed. Among the signatories are prominent figures in Michigan’s Jewish community, although they signed as individuals rather than on behalf of their organizations.

The backlash also underscores the political stakes of Israel policy in Michigan. The state is home to roughly 100,000 Jews, making Jewish voters a potentially consequential constituency in a competitive Senate contest. Several longtime Democratic Jewish activists have argued that supporting El-Sayed despite his positions on Israel could send the wrong message to the Democratic Party.