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In the heart of Michigan, a state long accustomed to the predictable rhythms of Democratic loyalty among its Jewish voters, a note of profound disquiet has begun to sound.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, an Orthodox rabbi who serves as director of community relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, has announced that he will cast his ballot for the Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in the November election. The decision, made in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the federation, stems from the Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s positions on Israel and his associations with blatant anti-Semites.
Lopatin, who, like many uninformed or possibly suicidal liberals has typically voted Democratic, declared: “I’m going to vote for Mike Rogers,” adding, “I have concerns, but I have to do whatever I can to make sure this candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, does not win.”
His choice comes amid a wider stirring among Jewish leaders in the Wolverine State who naively back Democrats, yet now find themselves contemplating support for Rogers and urging others to do likewise out of alarm over El-Sayed.
The context is clear enough. El-Sayed narrowly defeated US Representative Haley Stevens by about one percentage point in the August 4 Democratic primary, setting the stage for a November contest against Rogers, a former congressman and the Republican nominee.
El-Sayed, a Detroit-born physician and progressive former health director in the city, swiftly positioned himself as the most anti-Israel figure in the primary field. He has called for an end to US military support for Israel, accused the Jewish state of genocide [while not making much of what the Hamassholes did on Oct. 7, 2023] and apartheid, branded it a “rogue state,” and insisted that its government and the Hamas terrorist organization are both “evil.”
He has questioned American support for Israel remaining a Jewish state, asserting that no interpretation of a Jewish state can be reconciled with liberal values. He has further claimed that the only reason a Democrat might support Israel is money, [a scummy anti-Semitic trope] and that it is impossible for a Democrat to back Israel while believing in “human rights.”
Such rhetoric has not gone unnoticed. Lopatin acknowledged the broader Democratic preoccupation with retaining control of the Senate and resisting the administration of President Donald Trump. “I’m sympathetic” to Democrats, he said, yet insisted that “someone like Abdul El-Sayed is unacceptable.”
The rabbi reserved particular criticism for Senate Minority Leader Chuck "Nostrils" Schumer, a JINO, for endorsing El-Sayed despite these positions on Israel.
El-Sayed’s record includes further episodes that have deepened the unease. In March he hesitated to condemn a terrorist attack on a Michigan synagogue that involved an attempted mass killing of Jewish children. Reports indicated that in private meetings he voiced concern that condemnation might alienate potential voters sympathetic to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group [and it's rumored he a fanboy of Sheikh Naim Qassem and has a photo of the Hezbollah leader above his bed.]
He even hesitated making a comment on the US-Israeli strikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in late February, citing support for Khamenei among some of his prospective constituents.
The candidate has campaigned alongside the execrable political streamer Hasan "Crapweasel" Piker, whose past remarks about Israel, Jews and terrorism have drawn widespread condemnation. El-Sayed made the political decision and has disavowed Piker’s claim that “America deserved 9/11,” but Lopatin maintains that the distancing has been inadequate. “He’s never disavowed Hasan’s anti-Semitism,” the rabbi said, referring to Piker’s comments about Orthodox Jews.
Rogers’s campaign has moved to capitalize on these concerns, launching a “Democrats for Mike Rogers” coalition to spotlight Democratic voters who say they cannot support El-Sayed.
Lopatin appeared at the event and underscored that his decision marked a significant departure from his usual pattern. He suggested that the Democratic nominee should “recognize the State of Israel as a legitimate sovereign nation and not cavort with Hasan Piker, a known anti-Semite.”
Of the Democratic Party he observed: “There should be a long list of things that concern them about him.”
Earlier this week a group of Michigan Jewish leaders circulated an open letter urging the state’s Jewish population to support Rogers over El-Sayed.
The letter stated: “If El-Sayed were to win the general election in this important swing state, we fear the far-left and anti-Jewish elements in the Democratic party would become dominant, including in the imminent 2028 presidential race. We cannot allow him to become the Democratic standard-bearer or Michigan’s senator.”
Jews remain an overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning constituency. Yet the combination of rising anti-Semitism and El-Sayed’s evident antipathy toward Israel has led some to consider whether their traditional allegiance can endure. The Republican campaign is wagering that these anxieties will persuade enough habitual Democrats to cross party lines.
Whether that calculation yields tangible results in November is far from certain, but the debate itself reveals a fracture that few would have anticipated only a short while ago.
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