Abdul El-Sayed, the leading Democratic candidate for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat, is drawing fresh scrutiny over his positions on Israel and a leaked recording in which he referenced Dearborn voters' reactions to Middle East conflict.

The controversy comes as Michigan's Aug. 4 primary election approaches and as Arab American voters in Dearborn reshape the state's political landscape ahead of the 2026 midterms.

El-Sayed Struggles to Answer Whether Israel Should Be a Jewish State

El-Sayed, a former Detroit public health commissioner and neuroscientist, has repeatedly declined to directly answer whether Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. According to a recording obtained by Jewish Insider, the candidate said at a campaign event that the question forces a debate over "a definition of what a Jewish state means."

"I often struggle with the question that people ask in this particular scenario, because what they now ask is, 'Do you believe in the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state,' which, to me, forces the question of a definition of what a Jewish state means," El-Sayed said, according to the recording.

He added that Israel's existence overlooks "the rights of people who've been displaced by Israeli action" dating back to 1948.

"[Israel] exists as it stands, but nobody ever asked me about the right of Palestine to exist, because it doesn't exist," El-Sayed said. "And so I just push back on the characterization here."

El-Sayed told those asking the question to define what they mean by a "Jewish state" and to explain how it is "consistent with any form of liberal values."

Earlier this year, El-Sayed used similar deflection when Olivia Reingold, a staff writer for The Free Press, asked him the same question. He cut her off before she could answer, saying, "If you can't define the question, I'm not going to answer your question."

Leaked Recording Shows El-Sayed Citing Dearborn Voters

A separate leaked recording revealed El-Sayed telling campaign staffers that he did not want to condemn the killing of Iran's supreme leader because "a lot of people in Dearborn are sad."

In the same recording, El-Sayed addressed the March 12 car attack on Temple Israel synagogue in Dearborn, in which Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a Lebanese-born naturalized U.S. citizen, drove his vehicle into the congregation. El-Sayed said the attacker was filled with "rightful rage" and contextualized the violence by referencing airstrikes in Iran and Lebanon.

"A week earlier, an airstrike killed his niece and nephew. Imagine if that had never happened. Imagine there was no war in Iran. Imagine if there were no airstrikes in Lebanon. Imagine if his family had never died," El-Sayed said in the recording. "We can and must condemn the attack on Temple Israel, and we can and must condemn the violence 6,000 miles away."

Dearborn's Arab American Voters Are Redefining Michigan Politics

The remarks land in a city where political sentiment among Arab American voters has shifted dramatically. According to reporting by Planet Detroit, Arab American voters in Michigan swung away from the Democratic ticket by 35% in the 2024 presidential election, compared to a 12% national swing.

In Dearborn as a whole during the 2024 election:

  • Donald Trump received 42% of the vote
  • Kamala Harris received 29.11%
  • Third-party candidates received 27.11%

In Arab American majority precincts in East Dearborn, third-party candidates, mainly Jill Stein, received 36% of the vote.

Abbas Alawieh, a Democratic primary candidate for Michigan State Senate District 2, told Planet Detroit that the political sentiment among Dearborn's Arab Americans "is rooted in a deep sense of frustration and grief, specifically in response to Trump's illegal wars in the Middle East."

El-Sayed Leads Democratic Senate Primary

According to polls cited by The Daily Signal, El-Sayed currently leads his Democratic rivals for the Senate nomination. The winner of the Aug. 4 primary is expected to face Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election.

El-Sayed announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in April 2025 after incumbent Gary Peters declared he would not seek reelection. Michigan's U.S. Senate seat is considered one of the most competitive races in the 2026 midterms.

The pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC is expected to spend heavily in the race, according to reporting by Bridge Michigan. The organization solicited contributions for rival candidate Haley Stevens in a September 2025 fundraising email.

Former Governor Jennifer Granholm has endorsed Stevens for the Senate nomination, according to a Michigan Capitol report from May 19.