Over 220 US Rabbis Urge Michigan Senate Nominee El-Sayed to Publicly Commit to Jewish Safety

More than 220 liberal and progressive rabbis from 34 states have signed an open letter to Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic US Senate nominee in Michigan, backing the campaign demands of a group called Nonnegotiable Michigan.

That group began in September, led by rabbis, cantors and lay leaders whose congregations serve an estimated 40,000 Jewish Michiganders. The new signatories say there is a gap between what El-Sayed says publicly about Jewish safety and rhetoric they believe weakens it.

The letter was released on Friday, ahead of a Saturday Get Out the Vote rally at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Former president Barack Obama made his first public campaign appearance alongside El-Sayed at the event. Speaking to thousands of attendees, Obama praised the candidate, compared El-Sayed's political path to his own, and urged voters to back Democrats as a check on the Trump administration. According to the report, he did not mention the continuing disputes over Jewish inclusion and foreign policy.

The rabbis contrast Obama's record with El-Sayed's statements. They write that Obama welcomed Zionist Jews as full partners in his coalition and never asked them to leave their love of Israel at the door. They allege El-Sayed has repeatedly dismissed concerns raised by Jewish voters and has used language that echoes antisemitic stereotypes. "You have described your campaign as picking up the baton [Obama] carried," they wrote, urging him to honor the part of that legacy that made Jewish Americans feel safe.

The signatories say El-Sayed voices commitment to Jewish safety before Jewish audiences but tells a different story more broadly. "Asked about our safety here at home, you offer warm words about Jews and Judaism, but immediately pivot to Israel and foreign wars," they wrote. They cite past remarks in which they allege he called Israelis "bloodthirsty," described American financial and diplomatic support for Israel as "legalized bribery" and "purchased loyalty," and called a Jewish state inherently illiberal. They also say he told a national audience that Israel uses American funds to push the US into foreign wars.

The letter argues the stakes extend beyond Michigan. "A senator from Michigan legislates for all of us," it says, adding that the laws he writes and the words he speaks would shape the safety and belonging of Jews across the country. It also asks Obama to use his Detroit platform to remind the coalition he built that Jews belong in it fully, safely and proudly, including those deeply connected to Israel.

The open letter follows a renewed appeal issued Wednesday by Nonnegotiable Michigan. The group said it had documented six weeks of unanswered requests for dialogue with El-Sayed before widening its campaign to elected officials, Democratic leaders and college students.

The rabbis endorsed five commitments and asked El-Sayed to adopt them publicly: that Jewish safety is nonnegotiable; support for Jewish statehood and self-determination in Israel; that Jews alone define Jewish identity; that Zionist Jews are welcome in the Democratic Party; and that Palestinian aspirations for safety, dignity and freedom be pursued alongside Israel rather than in place of it.

"Jewish safety cannot be something you invoke when speaking to Jews, but undermine when speaking to everyone else," the letter states. Neither El-Sayed nor Obama had responded to The Jerusalem Post's request for comment by the time of publication.