HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Michigan Republican Mike Rogers, the former congressman seeking a Senate seat, seized Tuesday on his Democratic opponent’s negative comparison of Israel to Iran.
Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel, was asked during last week’s debate which of the two nations poses a bigger threat to the U.S. The Democrat called the question “ridiculous,” adding that both have proven to be dangerous.
“Abdul El-Sayed can’t say if Israel or Iran is a greater threat to the United States,” Rogers wrote in an X post. “Utterly disqualifying.”
Rogers has hammered El-Sayed over his staunch opposition to Israel, still an American ally despite the deadly wars it’s waged. The Democrat’s pushed Congress to cut off military aid to the Jewish state, an approach Rogers hopes will suppress ethnic enthusiasm as the November election approaches.
“The Jewish community is terrified of Abdul, and how can you blame them?” Rogers said in a statement last week.
El-Sayed’s support among Michigan Jews is unclear, but he’s campaigned for their trust. He told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he and Jews share much in common despite his criticism of Israel.
“As I’ve said to the Jewish community and frankly all communities, ‘if you open the door for me and you invite me, I will come,’” the Democrat said.
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