Michigan’s El-Sayed insists Israel ‘not an ally’ and ‘not actually our friend’
Democratic US Senate nominee and vocal Israel critic compares Jewish state to a friend who pits one against their other friends
JTA — Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic US Senate nominee in Michigan, is doubling down on his view that Israel is not an ally of the United States, as the November 3 midterm elections draw closer.
El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel who faces former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in one of the country’s most competitive Senate races, told ABC News on Monday that Israel is “not actually our friend.”
“An ally that takes your money to push you into wars you shouldn’t be fighting is not an ally,” said El-Sayed, referencing Israel’s reported lobbying of the United States to enter into a war with Iran.
He compared Israel with a friend who “keeps bumming off [your kid’s] money” and “talks about them behind their back and then gets them into fights with other friends.”
“What would you tell your kid to do with that friend? You’d probably tell them, maybe it’s not actually your friend,” he said.
El-Sayed made similar remarks in an interview with MS NOW on Thursday, saying that “the government of Israel has done nothing but use us” and “has done terrible things with our money.”
Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed shared his views on U.S.-Israel relations, saying he does not consider Israel an American ally: “I think it’s time for us to realize that Israel is not actually our friend.”
Watch the full conversation tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC News Live… pic.twitter.com/GhKCUOnjr3
— ABC News (@ABC) October 19, 2026
He added that he would continue to question whether Israel was an ally regardless of the outcome of the Knesset election on October 27, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has served as Israel’s leader for most of the past 18 years, seeks another term.
“Netanyahu is one part of it, but the Israeli military has done heinous things, like heinous things, full war crimes, genocide,” said El-Sayed. “So I think we got to just get serious about whether or not we as a country should be subsidizing that government.”
Israel has strongly rejected the accusation that it has committed genocide in the war in Gaza, saying it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stressing that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
El-Sayed previously affirmed that he does not consider Israel an ally to the United States in his first bitter debate with Rogers on October 8. The candidates will meet for a final debate on Wednesday.
He told MS NOW that he was “committed to the safety and security” of Jewish voters, some of whom have pressured him to moderate his views on Israel. “Now, we may have differences when it comes to Israel, but the things that unite us are a lot bigger,” he said.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.