Michigan Dem AG tells Jewish voters to ‘sacrifice safety,’ suggests embracing radical Islamist candidates in midterms

The remarks from Nessel, who is Jewish, came as Democrats in the battleground state face a widening divide over Israel and antisemitism and as anti-Israel Democrat Abdul El-Sayed campaigns for US Senate.

Nessel made the comments during an Aug. 30 gathering in Birmingham hosted by the Michigan Democratic Party’s Jewish Caucus. Members of the media were barred from the event, according to The Detroit News.

Invoking the biblical story of Queen Esther, Nessel told the Jewish audience there was a “moral imperative to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest.” She urged them to “sacrifice the comfort, safety and security and even the very future of our own people in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity.”

Nessel also questioned the importance of preserving Israel if other issues, including climate change, are not addressed. “What good is defending the historic homeland of our ancestors and demanding that candidates acknowledge its right to exist if the planet upon which it rests is no longer inhabitable?” Nessel said.

She went on to call supporting President Donald Trump an “abdication of our responsibilities as Jews” and described Trump as the “world's biggest and most dangerous fool.”

The comments come just weeks after Nessel said antisemitism within the Michigan Democratic Party had made her fear for her own safety, causing her to skip the party's convention. 200 Jewish leaders, rabbis, academics and community activists signed an Aug. 10 letter demanding that the Michigan Democratic Party protect Jewish delegates after Nessel announced she did not feel safe attending the party's convention.

Asked whether Michigan Democrats were doing enough to combat antisemitism, Nessel responded, “Absolutely, they're not.”

“Myself and other Jewish electeds are subjected to a barrage of antisemitic threats,” she said. Nessel said at the time that she feared activists would target her if she attended the convention. “I don't feel safe going. I feel like my presence isn't going to be welcome. I don't want to get chased around. I don't want to get harassed. I don't want to get yelled and screamed at. I don't want to get booed off the stage, irrespective of what I'm saying,” Nessel said. “And I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it's been happening to me.”

Nessel also revealed that she had filed a complaint with the state Democratic Party after a party official allegedly called her a “neo-Nazi” over her political views.

The attorney general has previously challenged anti-Israel rhetoric from prominent Michigan Democrats. Following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) defended the slogan “from the river to the sea,” prompting Nessel to publicly urge her fellow Democrat to retract the statement. “@RashidaTlaib, I have supported and defended you countless times, even when you have said the indefensible because I believed you to be a good person whose heart was in the right place. But this is so hurtful to so many. Please retract this cruel and hateful remark,” Nessel wrote, as The Post Millennial reported at the time.

The latest controversy comes as Michigan Democrats confront another politically explosive divide over Israel surrounding El-Sayed, who attended Nessel's Aug. 30 event and apologized to members of the Jewish Caucus for previous controversial comments. Nessel has said she will not support Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers but has so far withheld an endorsement from El-Sayed because of concerns over his positions on Israel.

El-Sayed has faced scrutiny over his own record and political connections. In August it was revealed that El-Sayed received more than $115,000 in campaign contributions from dozens of people who work for or have held leadership positions with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

The contributors identified in a review of federal election records included officials associated with CAIR's national organization as well as chapters across the country, including Michigan. CAIR has denied maintaining ties to Hamas, terrorism, or the Muslim Brotherhood. The organization was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal government's Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing prosecution.

Additionally, El-Sayed's mother previously worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency, which was later designated by the US Treasury Department over allegations its international network provided financial assistance to Osama bin Laden and support benefiting Hamas and the Taliban. El-Sayed's father-in-law, Dr. Jukaku Tayeb, has also held leadership positions with CAIR-Michigan and the Islamic Society of North America. Both organizations were named as unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation case.

Despite the tensions within her party, Nessel acknowledged during the Jewish Caucus gathering that some anti-Israel arguments have come from people with little understanding of Jewish history. She criticized arguments equating Zionism with racism as frequently coming “by people whose entire understanding of Jewish-Israeli history fits neatly into a 47-second TikTok produced by Qatar or Iran.”

Nessel argued that Republicans posed the greater threat, criticizing the GOP for focusing on issues including “transgender girls playing JV volleyball” rather than issues such as wealth inequality and artificial intelligence.

During an appearance on The Atlantic's David Frum Show said Democrats risk alienating Jewish constituents and argued that Jewish Democrats have increasingly felt ostracized by their own party since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. She said that if ultimately forced to choose, she would put her Jewish heritage ahead of her Democratic Party affiliation.