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Rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Michigan, and president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis.
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Addressed record
El-Sayed's immediate response should have stopped at an unqualified condemnation; adding causal context at that moment was a mistake.
“really only a partial apology”
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Case record
After an armed assailant attacked Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed condemned the attack and antisemitism but connected the assailant's actions to an Israeli airstrike that killed members of his family, describing violence as a cycle. Critics said the framing rationalized an antisemitic terrorist attack or shifted responsibility toward Israel and Jews. El-Sayed denied justifying the attack and later apologized for introducing context when the victims needed an unqualified condemnation.
