Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed stated on Thursday that Israel and Iran are “both dangerous in their own way.” The Democrat made this comment during a debate in Grand Rapids while facing former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers. Breitbart reports that the moderator questioned El-Sayed directly about whether Israel or Iran presents a bigger threat to the United States.
El-Sayed called the question a “ridiculous hypothetical” but refused to choose one side. He told the crowd that Israel has “lobbied us to go to war with Iran.” He stated that Iran has retaliated by “bombing all kinds of countries in the Middle East.” Per the New York Post, he argued that the U.S. should not be part of this conflict.
🚨Adbul El-Sayed REFUSES to answer when asked if he would provide DEFENSIVE weapons to Israel if it were attacked.
Abdul wants to represent Palestine. @MikeRogersForMI will represent Michigan. https://t.co/jXUkSSxzes
— RJC (@RJC) October 9, 2026
The moderator, Rick Albin, pressed him for a clear answer one last time. Albin asked, “I’ll ask one last time: Israel or Iran?” El-Sayed replied that both nations have “proven dangerous in their own way.” He asserted that one nation risks attacking the U.S. while the other drags us into wars we have no business fighting.
El-Sayed also faced questions about providing defensive weapons to Israel if attacked. He did not say yes or no directly but indicated he would not vote for it. According to Breitbart, he stated he does not want tax dollars “buying weapons for other countries.” He emphasized that he wants money spent on “schools and health care and child care here.”
Rogers faulted El-Sayed for being unclear regarding terrorism and the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Rogers said the Democrat could not bring himself to acknowledge the “pain, the terrorism, the rape, the murders.” Rogers noted that El-Sayed failed to mark the three-year anniversary of the attack that killed some 1,200 Israelis. This stance has drawn intense scrutiny from Jewish voters in the state.
El-Sayed has apologized for some comments but has not disavowed commentator Hasan Piker. Piker recently proposed that American Jews backing Israel were responsible for the violence targeting them. El-Sayed also stated that his opponent wants “unconditional support for a foreign government.” He contrasted this with his own desire for unconditional support for kids in schools.
El-Sayed is trying to ease concerns among the roughly 100,000 Jewish residents in Michigan. Per the Washington Examiner, he will attend private events with Rep. Becca Balint and other Jewish Democrats. The initial event occurs Sunday at a residence in West Bloomfield, Michigan. This location is the same city where a Lebanese-born man drove his truck into a synagogue in March.
On Monday, undecided voters will meet former Rep. Andy Levin and candidate Brad Lander in Ann Arbor. All three are on the left end of the political spectrum. Balint became the first Jewish Congress member to charge Israel with committing a “genocide” in Gaza. These events are a sign of the inroads El-Sayed still needs to make before the election.
The debate continues to highlight deep divisions on foreign policy and national security. Rogers is attempting to capitalize on El-Sayed’s opposition to military aid during his own outreach.
