El-Sayed’s campaign responded Monday by stressing that it had no role in producing the advertisement.
By Shula Rosen
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed faced criticism from Jewish organizations and political figures after his campaign distanced itself from an advertisement linking US grocery prices to American assistance for Israel but did not explicitly condemn the ad’s content.
Rebellion PAC, a progressive political group founded by left-wing commentator Cenk Uygur, released the advertisement independently of El-Sayed’s campaign and without the candidate’s authorization.
The group is spending approximately $1,000 to distribute it online.
In the video, a couple shopping for groceries discusses returning a carton of eggs because “we have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians.”
Their conversation turns to billions of dollars in US assistance to Israel and a suggestion that American taxpayers help finance Israel’s universal healthcare system.
The advertisement later targets El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, former congressman Mike Rogers.
“Mike Rogers is for they/them,” the narrator says as images of Israeli political leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appear. “Abdul El-Sayed is for you.”
Much of the footage was originally produced for Uygur’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign, with a new ending added to support El-Sayed.
El-Sayed’s campaign responded Monday by stressing that it had no role in producing the advertisement.
“This ad is not affiliated in any way with the Abdul for Senate campaign,” spokeswoman Roxie Richner said.
Richner said El-Sayed was focused on challenging President Donald Trump’s economic policies, which she blamed for higher costs for Michigan residents.
“No one speaks for Abdul but himself and his campaign,” she added.
The statement did not explicitly address allegations that the advertisement promoted antisemitic stereotypes or call for the video to be withdrawn.
Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, co-chairman of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, called on El-Sayed to denounce the advertisement as antisemitic and seek its removal if he was sincere about protecting Jewish Americans.
“If not, then he’s full of s***,” Goldman wrote on X.
After being asked about El-Sayed’s response, Goldman said he was aware of the statement and considered it “wholly lacking.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition also criticized the campaign’s response, while Democrats for Mike Rogers wrote on X, “Absolutely pathetic that Abdul can’t condemn this disgusting antisemitic ad. It’s disqualifying.”
Rep. Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed defeated in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, warned that the dispute could hurt Democratic candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
“This type of fearmongering about Israel is wrong,” Stevens wrote.
She argued that Democrats should concentrate on lowering housing, healthcare and other living expenses rather than connecting Americans’ financial difficulties to Israel.
“How we do so is not by blaming the high costs of our goods on the only Jewish homeland in the world,” she said.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt described the advertisement as “a case study in antisemitism,” accusing it of scapegoating Israel for domestic economic problems.
The American Jewish Committee similarly rejected its message, arguing that Americans facing financial difficulties need practical solutions rather than misleading claims blaming Israel.
Former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said opposing US assistance to Israel was a legitimate political position but argued that the advertisement falsely connected that aid to grocery prices.
Uygur rejected the accusations.
“If you think this ad is antisemitic, you’re in a cult and don’t know it,” he wrote on X.
Rebellion PAC spokeswoman Kara Eastman also defended the video, arguing that criticism of US financial assistance to a foreign government should not automatically be labeled antisemitic.
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