US Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has hired a Jewish liaison as he seeks to win over Jewish voters amid his continued criticism of US-Israel ties.
He is currently running in a closely contested Senate race in Michigan ahead of the November midterm elections.
Veteran political consultant Lenore Goldman, who has worked with Jewish organisations such as the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, as well as the One Fair Wage movement, which campaigns for higher minimum wages in the US, was selected by El-Sayed.
Goldman confirmed her appointment in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) on Wednesday.
Goldman told the news outlet that she had been working with the campaign since September, although El-Sayed’s team had not publicly announced her appointment.
The development follows local reports in August that the campaign was seeking to hire a liaison to Michigan’s Jewish community.
El-Sayed backs ending all US military assistance to Israel amid its genocidal war on Gaza, which began in October 2023.
During the final televised debate in Michigan’s Senate race on Wednesday, Republican candidate Mike Rogers alleged that some “Jewish Democrats” were “literally afraid” of El-Sayed.
“We’re doing exceptionally well with Jewish Democrats who are literally afraid,” Rogers said during the debate in Detroit.
“I’ve talked to ones with tears in their eyes about the future of their kids and grandkids, because [of] the anger and division that he is laying out on the street.”
In his closing statement, Rogers further claimed that Jewish voters were among several groups of Democrats switching their support to him because they considered El-Sayed “too extreme”.
Rogers, a vocal supporter of Israel, was then accused by El-Sayed of being “bought off” by special interests, including pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.
El-Sayed cited a recent New York Times report that the group’s super PAC intended to spend $9 million to support Rogers.
AIPAC announced on Wednesday that it would stop endorsing candidates and making direct campaign contributions through its PAC, while its affiliated super PAC would continue independent election spending.
Rogers responded by accusing El-Sayed of being “bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood” and alleged that his campaign had received funding from the Palestinian group Hamas.
Amid attempts to conflate El-Sayed’s criticism of Israel’s actions in the Middle East with antisemitism, Rogers also targeted his opponent’s ethnicity and Muslim faith.
The accusations followed repeated Islamophobic attacks from Republicans, including President Donald Trump, over alleged family ties between El-Sayed and the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood.
“If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know: Are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” Rogers said.
El-Sayed, who has denied any association with the Muslim Brotherhood, condemned the remarks as a “shameful” attack.
“To bring into question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you. I am proud of America. I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray,” he said.
If elected, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate.
A Marist public opinion poll released on Wednesday showed El-Sayed leading Rogers by 50 per cent to 48 per cent among likely voters.
However, the two-point difference falls within the poll’s 4.3-percentage-point margin of error.