El-Sayed Calls Israel Aid ‘Worst Use’ of US Tax Dollars

Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed called annual American military assistance to Israel the “worst use of our tax dollars” during his final debate against Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan on Monday night.

The exchange placed Israel, US military aid and AIPAC’s involvement at the center of the candidates’ sharpest confrontation before the August 4 Democratic primary. Stevens and El-Sayed also argued over affordability, immigration, campaign finance and electability, but their positions on Israel exposed one of the clearest ideological divisions in the race.

El-Sayed raised Stevens’s recent vote against an amendment that would have cut $3.3 billion in annual military assistance to Israel. He argued that the vote demonstrated the influence of pro-Israel groups spending heavily to support her campaign.

AIPAC and its affiliated organizations have spent close to $30 million backing Stevens, according to reporting by The Associated Press. The investment is the organization’s largest in a single race.

More recent campaign finance records showed that AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, had spent more than $19.9 million supporting Stevens through July 20. A separate group, A Stronger Michigan, spent another $16.8 million on her behalf, although its donors had not been publicly disclosed.

Stevens rejected El-Sayed’s claim that outside spending would control her decisions in the Senate.

“I don’t think there’s much difference between super PACs going in for Abdul or super PACs going in for me,” she said. “We have a problem with campaign finance reform in this country.”

She pointed to Fighting for Michigan PAC, a group supporting El-Sayed that received $300,000 from his father-in-law and had spent more than $2.3 million backing his candidacy.

Stevens also said she supports a two-state solution and highlighted her criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She has previously described herself as a “proud pro-Israel Democrat.”

El-Sayed responded after the debate by again accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, an allegation Israel denies.

“My father-in-law does not want to send your tax dollars to the Israeli military to do genocide, I’ll tell you that much,” he told reporters.

The debate also addressed leaked audio in which El-Sayed said a progressive primary victory could allow the movement to “put one ogre on a pike” and send a message to other Democratic lawmakers.

El-Sayed said the remark referred to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, not Stevens. He accused Fetterman of abandoning the positions on which he was elected. The two have repeatedly clashed over Fetterman’s strong support for Israel.

Stevens responded: “Thank you for clarifying that you didn’t call me an ogre.”

The primary will determine who faces former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. The contest is expected to play an important role in the battle for control of the Senate.

Stevens is backed by establishment Democrats, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, while El-Sayed has received support from progressive figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The August 4 vote will now test whether El-Sayed’s opposition to US support for Israel can overcome Stevens’s institutional backing and record levels of spending from pro-Israel groups.