Abdul El-Sayed showcases Jewish activists with ties to controversial anti-Israel group

Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate bid in Michigan includes a new advertising push called “Jews for Abdul,” which spotlights three Jewish activists with progressive credentials. The first video, aired on September 8, presents Daniel Klein, a former Jewish Telegraphic Agency reporter now working with Detroit Jews for Justice, speaking with his family. A later Rosh Hashanah clip filmed at the home of Missy and Elaine Shifman shows the mother-daughter pair praising El-Sayed’s single-payer health plan.

Both the Shifmans and Klein have connections to Jewish Voice for Peace, the organization that labeled the Oct. 7 Hamas attack as carried out by “Palestinian fighters” and attributed its cause to Israeli policies. JVP has also hosted controversial figures such as Rasmea Odeh. The ads aim to appeal to Jewish voters, but the strategy has drawn criticism from mainstream Jewish Democrats who question the alignment with anti-Israel groups.