El-Sayed apologizes for synagogue attack comments

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, apologized Saturday to the state’s Jewish Democratic Caucus for comments he made after a March attack on a synagogue that he tied to Israel’s actions in the Middle East.

“My comments may have been misconstrued to justify something I did not mean to justify,” El-Sayed told reporters after addressing the caucus at the Michigan Democratic Nominating Convention in Lansing. “To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m really sorry. That was not my intention.”

The apology came as El-Sayed works to unite Democrats after a bitter primary in which he defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens. He is also trying to move past controversies involving allegations of antisemitism, including scrutiny of his association with controversial commentator Hasan Piker.

El-Sayed faces Republican nominee Mike Rogers in a Michigan Senate race that will help determine control of the chamber after the November midterms.

The comments at issue followed a March attack on Temple Israel, a synagogue in a Detroit suburb. Authorities said Ayman Mohammad Ghazali rammed his car into the building and opened fire on a security guard before dying by suicide. Ghazali had lost four relatives in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon the week before the attack.

In a video response at the time, El-Sayed condemned the attack but added that “hurt people hurt people,” referring to what had happened to Ghazali’s family. Critics accused him of justifying Ghazali’s actions.

El-Sayed said Saturday that was not his intent.

“What I was trying to do was offer context for why it happened, but it wasn’t the time for context,” he said. “And you don’t ever want to trample somebody’s pain.”

His remarks to the caucus marked his latest effort to address concerns among Jewish Democrats and broader criticism within the party as the general election campaign begins.