LANSING, Mich. (VINnews) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says Jewish Democrats are facing growing antisemitism and increasing pressure within the Democratic Party over their support for Israel.
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Nessel, Michigan’s first Jewish attorney general, made the comments in an interview with David Frum of The Atlantic, where she discussed antisemitic threats against Jews, the political debate over Israel and concerns surrounding Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
Nessel said she has received antisemitic death threats since taking office and that the situation changed significantly after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. She said antisemitism that she once associated primarily with extremists on the political right has also become a concern within parts of the Democratic Party.
She said she has seen what she described as a lack of understanding about Judaism, Jewish history and the connection between Jews around the world and Israel.
Nessel said the issue has become particularly difficult for Jewish Democrats as El-Sayed campaigns on a platform that includes strong criticism of Israel.
Michigan has a sizable Jewish population, and Nessel said about 75% to 80% of Jewish voters in the state identify as Democrats or routinely vote for Democratic candidates. She said many are now concerned about whether supporting Israel could become a political liability within the party.
“We don’t want to have to choose between the future of the state of Israel and Israel potentially not existing anymore,” Nessel said, while noting that many Michigan Jews are also highly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.
Nessel said the political debate has created a divide in which some Jews who oppose Zionism are viewed more favorably than Jews who support Israel.
“It’s creating this dynamic where you have a lot of Democrats thinking there’s good Jews and bad Jews,” she said, describing the “good Jews” as those who oppose Zionism and the “bad Jews” as those who view Israel as their biblical, religious and historical homeland.
Nessel also criticized El-Sayed’s response to an attempted attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
She said El-Sayed initially condemned the attack but later connected it to Israeli military actions, including airstrikes in Lebanon and Iran. Nessel said she found the comparison troubling because the synagogue attack and events involving Israel were separate issues.
The attorney general also criticized the focus on AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying organization, in political debates involving Jewish candidates and voters.
Nessel said she has repeatedly argued that AIPAC should not be portrayed as responsible for issues unrelated to Israel, such as health care, housing, medication costs and environmental policy. She said she has also been falsely accused online of being financially connected to AIPAC.
Nessel expressed concern over rhetoric directed at Jewish elected officials because of their support for Israel. She cited Michigan state Rep. Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democrat who supports Israel, saying he was recently highlighted during an event featuring political streamer Hasan Piker.
Nessel said Moss was shown alongside references to his AIPAC rating and photographs from Israel, without mentioning that he had traveled there to protest Netanyahu’s government.
She said Jewish Democrats should not have to abandon their connection to Israel in order to remain part of the Democratic Party.
Nessel said Jews have played an important role in the party for generations, including in civil rights, women’s rights and LGBTQ rights, and warned that pushing Jewish Democrats away would harm the party.
“We are an essential part of the fabric of this party,” Nessel said. “This is a worse place without Jews in it.”
I am not Jewish. But the Democrat party is much more anti-semitic and anti-police than the Republican party. That is so obvious.