Jewish AG’s convention boycott exposes deepening Israel fault line among Michigan Democrats

LANSING, MI – Michigan Democrats gather Saturday in the battleground state’s capital city to hold their 2026 state nominating convention amid controversy over recent antisemitic harassment and open hostility within the party over U.S. support for Israel.

Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, recently announced she wouldn’t attend the confab due to security concerns, after anti-Israel party activists shouted down pro-Israel speakers, including Rep. Haley Stevens, at a prior convention in April.

This weekend’s convention comes as a growing number of Democrats push for cutting military aid to Israel, amidst the Israeli government’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

The convention is also being held just a few weeks after Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel who describes their military actions as “genocide,” narrowly edged Stevens to win the Democratic Senate nomination for a crucial seat the Democrats must hold in the midterm elections.

El-Sayed used the word “bloodthirsty” to characterize Israel’s military moves in Gaza in an MS NOW interview this month. He has argued against unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel, as have other progressive politicians. And El-Sayed has repeatedly declined to directly answer whether Israel has the right to exist.

But El-Sayed, after winning the Senate nomination, emphasized, “I stand in solidarity with my Jewish sisters and brothers, and we can condemn antisemitism. And, at the same time, we can be talking about how we bring people together, and we can be talking about everybody’s pain.

“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. We have a responsibility to take on antisemitism in all of its forms, wherever we see it.”