Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed equated antisemitism with Islamophobia during an MS NOW interview. He also linked U.S. military aid abroad to neglected public needs at home. The exchange drew attention after the host challenged whether he applied that argument consistently across the defense budget.
MS NOW aired the discussion as El-Sayed defended his positions on health care, antisemitism, and foreign military aid.
El-Sayed began by saying Jewish Americans would benefit from guaranteed health care. He praised Judaism, called Jewish people “a light unto the world,” and pledged to oppose antisemitism. He then said antisemitism and Islamophobia were “one in the same” and should be confronted together.
From there, he turned to U.S. support for foreign governments and domestic spending priorities. He questioned $3.3 billion in annual aid while American schools still resembled those from 50 years ago. He said that money supported apartheid, genocide, war, and an attempted annexation.
The host pressed him on why he had not made the same argument elsewhere in the defense budget. El-Sayed answered, “I have. You just don’t cover it.” He added that he also opposed U.S. aid to Egypt, where his family originated.
El-Sayed said he opposed unconditional foreign military aid to any government. When asked whether he opposed ethno-religious states broadly, he replied, “On principle, I absolutely am.”
Abdul El-Sayed’s Antisemitism and Islamophobia Comparison Fuels Online Debate
The interview prompted sharp disagreement over El-Sayed’s comparison and his opposition to unconditional foreign military aid.
One response rejected the comparison, stating, “They are not one and the same.” Another asked, “How are antisemitism and Islamophobia one and the same? Start there. Be specific. Explain it to me like you are writing a thesis paper.”
Another user wrote, “Jewish people are an ethnoreligious minority & the target of substantially more hate-crimes than muslims.” A separate response challenged El-Sayed’s description of foreign assistance: “He should know that we don’t send unconditional aid anywhere overseas. There are always conditions on our money. I guess he will learn these things if he gets the job.”
Supporters defended his comparison and broader position on military aid. One wrote, “Abdul El-Sayed is showing what principled leadership looks like. Standing against antisemitism and Islamophobia goes hand in hand with defending human rights and questioning unconditional military aid. Consistency isn’t controversial, it’s leadership.”
Another argued, “Its so weird for Mainstream news to act like their uneducated voters at home have a deeply cherished moral belief in ethnostates even though the idea of it is almost inherently at odds with democracy and democratic values – to have the audacity to make these people look radical..”
El-Sayed stood by both positions during the interview. His comparison and foreign-aid stance remain disputed as his Michigan Senate campaign continues.
