Democrats’ infighting over Israel is only beginning, The Atlantic writes
Abdul El-Sayed's victory in the Michigan Senate primary has exposed deep divisions within the Democratic Party over Israel. Supporters and opponents of his positions assess the outcome differently.
Gurban Gurbanzadeh3 min read
The internal Democratic debate in the United States over Israel is only gaining momentum. According to The Atlantic, the conflict between party members is likely to deepen. The occasion was the Senate primary in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed won.
Shortly before the vote, former President Barack Obama said in Detroit that Michigan could become an example of unity: one of the state's senators would be a Muslim, and another would be Jewish. However, a week after that statement, Representative Haley Stevens withdrew her support for El-Sayed and backed his rival, Representative Mallory Rodgers. Among the reasons, she named El-Sayed's position on Israel, an issue that divided Democrats more than any other this year.
El-Sayed won a convincing victory. However, according to the journalist, during the campaign in Michigan he constantly heard concerns from Democrats that tensions over the Middle East could destroy the broad coalition the party had assembled for victory in 2026.
At an evening event in Ann Arbor, which a correspondent observed, most participants voted for El-Sayed. At the same time, according to the material, no one celebrated. Some Jewish Democrats appeared distressed and said that the vote was one of the hardest in their lives. The organiser, Decky Alexander, said it was difficult for her to convey the depth of the grief being experienced in the city. She voted for El-Sayed without enthusiasm, while her husband, Bruce Kutinski, reluctantly chose Rodgers.
Rima Mohammad, a school board member in Ann Arbor, by contrast, saw El-Sayed's possible victory as an event that would change lives. In her words, the win would show that elections cannot be bought by corporations and groups such as AIPAC, and that hatred does not win.
The material notes that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict became one of the main sources of the split in the Democratic Party after the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October and the subsequent war in Gaza. The primary elections in Michigan this year became the main arena of internal party struggle over the United States' policy toward Israel. Stevens called Israel an "unbreakable" ally and "the closest friend" of America in the Middle East. El-Sayed described the country as "bloodthirsty" and said that, like Iran, it poses a threat to the United States.
After the primary and Stevens' support, the question was put aside for a while, and the party looked united. However, Stevens' decision to back Rodgers brought the issue back to the forefront. In his victory speech, El-Sayed spoke about protecting Palestinian children and thanked AIPAC for the opportunity to "defeat him twice".
Source: theatlantic.com
