Michigan Senate Candidate Pressed on Israel's Right to Exist and Past Comments on Police Funding

Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed encountered persistent questioning during a recent television interview regarding whether Israel possesses a right to exist, alongside inquiries about several social media posts he had deleted concerning the movement to reduce police funding. The interview, conducted by Kasie Hunt, delved into contentious political issues that have garnered significant attention, particularly within the Democratic Party.

Scrutiny Over Israel's Right to Exist

Hunt initiated the discussion by asking El-Sayed directly, "AIPAC is a big part of this conversation because Israel has become a very central topic, especially inside the Democratic Party, but nationally as well. Do you believe Israel has a right to exist?"

El-Sayed responded by highlighting the involvement of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in the current election cycle, noting, "So, Kasie, AIPAC has become a big issue in this election because AIPAC has already spent $30 million in this election — they’re by far the biggest spender in the race."

He then challenged the premise of the question itself: "Now, the question about a right to exist is interesting, because nobody’s ever asked me whether I believe Palestine has a right to exist. Every single president who’s served has said they believe in a two-state solution. Israel exists. The question is whether we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to fund genocide and apartheid instead of investing in our own kids."

Hunt acknowledged El-Sayed's statement that Israel exists but pressed him once more on whether the nation had a right to exist.

El-Sayed declined to provide a simple "yes" or "no," stating, "I didn’t say that. I just said the question of Israel‘s existence is not a question. I‘m not going to play this gotcha game about whether or not it has a right to exist. The question, ultimately, is about whether or not we want a politics that dignifies equal rights."

The interviewer reiterated her question for a third time, asking, "You’re not going to play the gotcha, but you’re not going to say you think Israel has a right to exist?"

El-Sayed again sidestepped a direct answer, proposing an alternative question he believed was more pertinent: "Does everybody have equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination? That includes Jews, Israelis, and Palestinians?"

He elaborated on his perspective: "And to me, the people who should answer what ultimate peace looks like there should be Jews, Israelis, and Palestinians. I want my tax dollars spent here in Michigan — to provide schools in Michigan, to build health care in Michigan, to invest in Michigan — rather than sent abroad to kill Palestinian people through genocide and apartheid. The question of whether Israel has a right to exist is actually quite secondary to whether it has a right to our tax dollars."

He concluded this segment by stating, "So if you want to ask me about the Palestinian right to exist, if you want to ask me what I want to do for kids in Michigan, I’m happy to answer those questions. But AIPAC and Israel have become questions that too many people have to answer, because our tax dollars keep getting spent over there rather than being spent here."

Addressing Past Stances on Police Funding

The interview then transitioned to El-Sayed's social media history, specifically focusing on posts he had since removed that advocated for the "defund the police" movement.

Hunt quoted one such post from June 2020, which appeared weeks after the death of George Floyd: "Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty & WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, & housing to eliminate poverty. Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about."

She inquired whether he maintained his previous statements or if he now believed police departments should receive funding.

El-Sayed referred to his professional background, citing his tenure as the director of the Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services in Wayne County, Michigan.

When pressed further by Hunt for a direct answer, he stated, "Judge me by my work, I funded the system because it needed to be funded. Too often the conversation we have is fund or defund. The question that we don‘t ask is, what kind of system do we really want? I want us to be investing in the kinds of interventions that actually protect people," listing examples such as recruitment and retirement for law enforcement, community violence intervention, and behavioral health response.

El-Sayed concluded the interview by critiquing the line of questioning, remarking, "And I think this debate about 2020 and the ways that tweets are going to play are really nice on CNN. If you want to get clicks, they‘re not that effective, and nobody really asks me about them on the streets or in communities in Michigan. So if you want to talk about housing or healthcare or corporate dominance in our politics, I think those are a lot more legitimate questions that people are actually asking me about what they want their next senator to do in the state of Michigan, rather than for clickbait in D.C."