Michigan Democrat who lost Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed takes aim at Bernie Sanders over Israel stance
Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost Michigan's Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed last month, criticised Sen. Bernie Sanders in an interview with The Jerusalem Post, saying she could not identify anything he had done for peace in the Middle East or "Palestinian dignity" and describing anti-Zionism as a "sickness" linked to extremism. The remarks add to tensions within the Democratic Party over Israel policy, coming as Stevens has also urged El-Sayed, who defeated her in the primary, to distance himself from left-wing streamer Hasan Piker despite having endorsed him.
Stevens told the outlet she believes anti-Zionism has become a "hate movement" across America and the West, though she was also critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him a "problem". She described herself as a Zionist Democrat and said she wanted to reassure Jewish, Black and moderate Democratic voters that there was still room for them in the party. Human rights lawyer Qasim Rashid rejected her comments as "profoundly disappointing", citing documented allegations of genocide against Israel and arguing her stance risked ceding Michigan to Republicans. The dispute unfolds against a backdrop of declining American support for Israel, according to an NBC News poll from March, more than two years into the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
In short
- Stevens accused Sanders of doing nothing for Middle East peace
- She called anti-Zionism a "sickness" tied to extremism
- Critic says her remarks risk losing Michigan to Republicans
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Stevens’s strongest case is that anti-Zionism can, in some settings, blur into hostility towards Jews or deny Jewish people the same claim to national self-determination afforded to others. A Democrat who supports Israel’s continued existence while criticising Netanyahu may see that position as a way to oppose extremism and reassure Jewish voters without giving the Israeli government a free pass.
The case against
Her critics can argue that condemning anti-Zionism as a sickness or hate movement collapses a broad range of views, including criticism of Israeli policy and advocacy for Palestinian rights, into an accusation of extremism. They may also see her dismissal of Sanders’s record on peace and Palestinian dignity as overlooking his advocacy, and argue that such rhetoric alienates voters concerned about the war and alleged Israeli abuses.
Explained simply
Israel’s creation as a Jewish state is known as Zionism; people who oppose Zionism are described as anti-Zionist, though they may have different reasons for doing so. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict centres on competing national claims to the same land, and has included wars, occupation and repeated efforts to reach a political settlement.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas, the Palestinian armed group that governs the territory, attacked Israel on 7 October 2023; Israel’s subsequent military campaign has caused extensive destruction and civilian deaths. The conflict has sharpened debate in the United States over support for Israel, Palestinian rights and how criticism of Israeli policy relates to antisemitism.
Michigan’s Democratic Party includes voters with differing views on these questions, making them significant in the state’s elections. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed are Democrats who competed in the state’s Senate primary, while Bernie Sanders is a US senator known for his progressive politics.
Art Culture Government Middle East Politics World