“I Have Felt Politically Homeless”: Michigan Jews Face Senate Dilemma

 https://www.newsweek.com/michigan-jewish-voters-senate-election-el-sayed-rogers-12650079

Michigan's voters face a choice in Tuesday's Senate election between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, with some lifelong Jewish Democrats considering voting for a candidate whose rhetoric they regard as antisemitic rather than supporting a Republican whose politics they oppose.

For others, concerns about El-Sayed have become serious enough to make them reconsider their longstanding Democratic allegiance. Interviews with Jewish residents and community leaders reveal differing views about how to weigh antisemitism, personal safety, Israel and domestic political priorities, amid a growing sense of alienation from political spaces they once considered home.

Those divisions spilled into the open on Sunday when Democratic Representative Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost the Senate primary to El-Sayed, endorsed Rogers just two days before the election. The extraordinary break followed a dispute over an advertisement linking U.S. support for Israel to grocery prices and Stevens' objections to El-Sayed's response. Her endorsement drew sharp criticism from fellow Democrats, underscoring how disagreements over Israel have strained party unity.