Haley Stevens showed courage, Michigan's Jews did not
Eleanor Roosevelt is often credited with saying, “Some people are going to leave a mark on this world, while others will leave a stain.”
Michigan Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens’ brave decision to support Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers will be seen as a mark of courage. The reported majority of Michigan Jews who voted for or supported the victorious Dr. Abdul El-Sayed will now carry the stain of useful fools.
Michigan faced a moment of moral and political consequence. On Nov. 3, voters chose El-Sayed as their next US senator. While his victory was part of a dramatic Democratic “blue wave” and essentially a rebuke of President Donald Trump, his election should trouble every American who believes that the Democratic Party, and particularly its Jewish constituency, should maintain a principled opposition to antisemitism and an appreciation for the US-Israel relationship.
El-Sayed’s record deserved scrutiny. The conclusions warranted condemnation. His candidacy deserved rejection. His election demands concern and disgust.
He repeatedly characterized Israel’s conduct in Gaza as genocide, opposed American military assistance to Israel, questioned the idea of Israel as a Jewish state and used rhetoric that alarmed Jewish leaders. After the March terrorist attack on Temple Israel, a West Bloomfield synagogue with a preschool, he condemned the violence but added, “Hurt people hurt people” — a remark that shifted blame toward Israel.
El-Sayed maintained a tight, affirming campaign alliance with radical podcaster Hasan Piker, a Jew- and America-hater. That alone should have been enough to sway thoughtful voters.
His actions and statements should have prompted serious questions about his judgment, his understanding of Jewish vulnerability and his willingness to confront the antisemitism that has become increasingly visible in American life.
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What makes this election particularly consequential is Stevens’ extraordinary intervention. After narrowly losing the August Democratic primary to El-Sayed, Stevens pledged to support her party’s nominee, but his rhetoric and associations became increasingly difficult to reconcile with her convictions. In a dramatic decision two days before the election, she withdrew her support and endorsed Rogers.
It was a remarkable act of political courage, particularly in a party where crossing the aisle can carry enormous professional consequences. Stevens chose conscience over party loyalty. She recognized that some political disagreements are not ordinary disputes over taxes, spending or domestic policy. They concern the fundamental question of whether Jewish Americans and the Jewish state deserve the same consideration, security and dignity afforded to everyone else.
Maybe, just maybe, Stevens’ protest will prompt others in her party to press for a “course correction” away from the progressive left. Republicans, for their part, might rein in their far right, with Vice President JD Vance pausing to reconsider his relationship with the likes of Tucker Carlson.
Stevens’ decision drew an angry response from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who called it a “despicable betrayal.” The irony is extraordinary: Schumer himself is Jewish and a self-declared shomer, or “guardian,” of his people. Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, also Jewish, sharply criticized Stevens as well.
But the most troubling stain may not be El-Sayed’s election. It may be the behavior of all the American Jews who knowingly voted for him, funded his campaign, excused his rhetoric or remained silent when confronted about positions that threaten Israel’s legitimacy and undermine Jewish security. Next Yom Kippur, they can beat their chests for those sins.
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Jewish political loyalty should never be a substitute for Jewish self-respect. A Democratic registration card, a lifelong allegiance to a party or hostility toward Trump cannot excuse indifference to the consequences of elevating a politician whose views on Jews and Israel are so deeply troubling.
Jews who recognize the dangers but refuse to speak out because of partisan convenience are participating in a particularly painful form of moral abdication. They are forgetting a bloody history lesson, and it is pitiful. There is something especially offensive about Jews helping to legitimize political practices that make other Jews feel increasingly isolated and vulnerable.
The obligation to speak out should be greater, not smaller, when the failings come from within our own community. Silence is not neutrality. It is a pathetic choice.
Michigan’s election was about more than one Senate seat. It was a test of political judgment, communal solidarity and moral courage. Haley Stevens demonstrated that there are moments when principle must outweigh party.
Some people leave memorable marks through courage and conviction. Others leave reputational stains through opportunism, silence and the abandonment of principle. The question before Michigan’s Jewish voters and El-Sayed’s enablers was simple: Do you choose to protect your people? The answer appears to be no.
Alan Newman, author of the novel “Good Heart,” holds leadership positions at AIPAC, StandWithUs and other organizations.
