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{"id":26907,"date":"2026-08-24T21:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T21:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/abdul-el-sayed-distances-himself-from-hasan-pikers-comments-on-american-jews\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T21:33:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T21:33:00","slug":"abdul-el-sayed-distances-himself-from-hasan-pikers-comments-on-american-jews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/abdul-el-sayed-distances-himself-from-hasan-pikers-comments-on-american-jews\/","title":{"rendered":"Abdul El-Sayed distances himself from Hasan Piker\u2019s comments on American Jews"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed put some distance between himself and his ally, progressive Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, after the latter faced intense criticism for suggesting that American Jewish support for Israel could lead someone to \u201ctake action\u201d against Jews in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters. Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk,\u201d El-Sayed <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AbdulElSayed\/status\/2091930951873905147?s=20\" target=\"_blank\"><u>said in a statement<\/u><\/a>. \u201cBut I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople. And while politicians and pundits try to make this race about a Twitch streamer, we&#8217;re going to be talking about gas, groceries, good schools, and healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement marks El-Sayed\u2019s clearest attempt to disentangle his campaign from Piker, whom he embraced during the primary despite the streamer\u2019s contentious rhetoric. And it reflects his efforts to win back Jewish Democrats and moderates in the state after a primary campaign that alienated many of those voters in the key Senate race.<\/p>\n<p>During a Thursday livestream, Piker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/videos\/2851630217?t=1h56m29s\" target=\"_blank\"><u>called \u201cthe idea that Jews are monolithic\u201d in their support of Israel<\/u><\/a> \u201ca very dangerous mode of propaganda.\u201d\u201cIf Jews in America keep putting this \u2014 this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone\u2019s going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe&#8217;re teaching people the wrong lesson. At the end of the day, American Jews do not prioritize Israel, but they do prioritize antisemitism.\u201d During Piker\u2019s remarks, the stream displayed a social media post showing Michigan Democratic congressional nominee and state Sen. Jeremy Moss, who is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/us-news\/2026-08-05\/ty-article\/.premium\/jeremy-moss-wins-michigan-democratic-congressional-primary\/0000019f-d0d7-d147-adff-f1ff0a520000\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Jewish and a supporter of Israel<\/u><\/a>. The post originated from the group Track AIPAC, and featured an image from Moss\u2019 Instagram account of him in Tel Aviv next to the group\u2019s signature red graphic noting contributions from \u201cpro-Israel donors\u201d to Moss\u2019 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Moss\u2019 support for Israel has made him a lightning rod among progressives opposed to pro-Israel Democrats. An audio clip alleged to be a recording of Moss claiming the purpose of his campaign is to maintain U.S. support for Israel went viral online over the weekend. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/08\/23\/jewish-michigan-lawmaker-jeremy-moss-fake-voice-recording-tom-barrett-lansing-battery-plant\/91405355007\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Moss told The Detroit News that it was a fake<\/u><\/a>, and that \u201cI would never say these things.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JeremyAllenMoss\/status\/2091998868065927308?s=20\" target=\"_blank\"><u>statement Monday evening<\/u><\/a>, Moss said he\u2019s been \u201cin continual dialogue\u201d with El-Sayed, including about \u201cJewish and Arab safety and security, both here at home in Michigan and in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moss also denounced Piker\u2019s comments as an attempt to \u201ccreate further divisions.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will not be lectured by a California podcaster about what Oakland County, Michigan&#8217;s Jewish community should and shouldn&#8217;t believe,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>El-Sayed has struggled to unify Michigan Democrats since edging out a victory in a bitter primary that was marked by accusations of antisemitism \u2014 partly due to his own views on Israel, and partly due his embrace of Piker, who has risen to prominence through controversial and vocal attacks on Israel. El-Sayed also drew criticisms from the Jewish community for his response after a man attacked a Michigan synagogue in March. El-Sayed condemned the attack but pointed out the Israeli military killed some of the attacker\u2019s family in Lebanon, <a href=\"https:\/\/abdulforsenate.com\/2026\/03\/video-abdul-el-sayed-reflects-on-temple-israel-attack\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>saying \u201churt people hurt people.\u201d<\/u><\/a>. He also received blowback for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/politics\/cnn-anchor-asks-abdul-el-sayed-three-times-if-israel-has-a-right-to-exist\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>declining repeatedly to answer<\/u><\/a> whether Israel has a right to exist during a BLN interview in June.<\/p>\n<p>His primary campaign made Stevens\u2019 acceptance of contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee a central issue, accusing the group of unfairly influencing the race and steering the party towards stronger U.S. relations with Israel, which he opposes. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/pro-israel-democrats-test-michigan-missouri-01016755\" target=\"_blank\"><u>AIPAC spent $30 million in the race,<\/u><\/a> a record for the group.<\/p>\n<p>El-Sayed has repeatedly condemned antisemitism throughout his campaign.<\/p>\n<p>His failure to corral support from many Jewish voters in Michigan threatens to undermine Democrats\u2019 chances of winning the Senate. The state\u2019s significant Muslim and Arab-American population and its prominent Jewish population pose unique challenges for Democrats\u2019 messaging around Israel \u2014 a problem then-Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to navigate in the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>Piker\u2019s comments drew a forceful rebuke from Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), who endorsed El-Sayed\u2019s opponent Rep. Haley Stevens in the primary and has so far declined to endorse El-Sayed, excoriating Piker\u2019s comments as \u201cdangerous\u201d and \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPiker is a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepScholten\/status\/2091886448853065970?s=20\" target=\"_blank\"><u>she said<\/u><\/a>. \u201cWe should all be calling out this disgusting rhetoric so it loses it&#8217;s [sic] grip on our politics once and for all. It has no place in Michigan, and no place in our country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Piker fired back at Scholten <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hasanthehun\/status\/2091915430898319804?s=20\" target=\"_blank\"><u>on social media<\/u><\/a>, telling her not to \u201cspend so much time vying for the spotlight by actively defaming a prominent antizionist voice to harm the dem senate majority chances over a 90\/10 issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Scholten\u2019s statement accused Piker of \u201ctargeting\u201d Moss after Piker displayed images of Moss while making the inflammatory comments. Moss, who is running to succeed El-Sayed\u2019s primary opponent Rep. Haley Stevens, backed Stevens in the primary and has yet to endorse El-Sayed in the general election.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Mike Rogers jumped on the controversy, describing Piker as El-Sayed\u2019s \u201crunning mate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHasan Piker&#8217;s call for violence against the Jewish Community, specifically against Jeremy Moss, must be condemned by every single Michigan Democrat. But Conman Abdul El-Sayed doesn&#8217;t have the guts to disavow his running mate,\u201d Rogers said <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MikeRogersForMI\/status\/2091983754499707313\" target=\"_blank\"><u>in a statement<\/u><\/a>. \u201cAbdul&#8217;s attempt at distancing himself from this violent and hateful rhetoric now that he and Hasan won the primary is the epitome of what a conman does \u2014 says one thing when it serves him and another when it doesn&#8217;t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since winning the nomination earlier this month, El-Sayed has taken steps to keep Piker at arm\u2019s length. In an August interview, El-Sayed disavowed Piker\u2019s comments that \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11\u201d during a 2019 livestream, a comment Piker has since walked back.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have gone to great lengths to reunify the party after the primary, including with a party unity rally featuring remarks from prominent Michigan Democrats, including unity breakfast Sen. Elissa Slotkin and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/08\/07\/pete-buttigieg-abdul-el-sayed-unity-rally-01030009\" target=\"_blank\"><u>rally featuring remarks<\/u><\/a> from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Former President Barack Obama <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/08\/09\/barack-obama-abdul-el-sayed-stevens-haley-01030199\" target=\"_blank\"><u>spoke with El-Sayed<\/u><\/a> after his victory and offered a rare readout of the conversation to reporters to signal that El-Sayed has the party\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n<p><i>This article has been updated with Moss&#8217; response to Piker&#8217;s comments.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed put some distance between himself and his ally, progressive Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, after the latter faced intense criticism for suggesting that American Jewish support for Israel could lead someone to \u201ctake action\u201d against Jews in the U.S. \u201cMy commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26907\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}