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.
Haaretz reported that United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed directly warned Benjamin Netanyahu about ten days before October 7, 2023 that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation. Netanyahu and his office categorically deny that the reported call or warning occurred and say official record checks found no supporting documentation. Reporter Shlomi Eldar says he possesses documents, records, and confidential-source evidence supporting the account, but those materials have not been made public. Naftali Bennett says he knows the report is true; other opposition leaders demand an investigation. The UAE government has declined to confirm or deny the alleged conversation.
Role at the time: Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Michigan
Challenged the characterization
Responding to
The Temple Israel attack should be understood in part through the cycle of violence created by the regional war and the Israeli airstrike that killed members of the assailant's family.
"We should stop hurting people."
Why we used this label
The response maintained his causal framing after the primary rather than retracting it.
Role at the time: U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan
Challenged the characterization
Responding to
The Temple Israel attack should be understood in part through the cycle of violence created by the regional war and the Israeli airstrike that killed members of the assailant's family.
"It was a risk."
Why we used this label
He maintained the decision to provide causal context rather than accepting critics' characterization of the statement as excusing terrorism.
Dov Waxman is a professor of Israel studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an author on Israel, American Jewry, and antisemitism. He writes academic work and public commentary on Jewish politics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
