Streamer Hasan Piker’s comments about Jewish Americans’ support for Israel are still haunting Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate campaign, as the Michigan Democrat tries to distance himself from the growing backlash within his own party.
Piker’s broadcasts, which frequently include criticism of the Israeli government, have become a trip wire for moderates eager to denounce him before conservative opponents can tie his commentary to their own campaigns. Democrats’ quick condemnation this week shows how toxic associating with Piker has grown on the Hill — a risk for swing-state candidates like El-Sayed, who has campaigned with the streamer before.
“Hasan Piker is an antisemite,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) said on Fox News on Tuesday. “Nobody should be anywhere near this guy. Nobody should campaign with him or repost him. Frankly, anyone who is quiet right now is complicit.”
A new wave of Piker criticism began when an audio clip resurfaced last week, appearing to feature Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss saying his campaign’s main objective is ensuring the U.S. continues its support for Israel. While Moss says the audio used is fake, Piker spoke about the video during a Monday stream — arguing that Jewish Americans’ continued support for Israel promotes the idea that the community is “monolithic,” thus opening them up to violence.
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“If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone’s going to come around and take action — not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,” Piker said.
Moss initially said he was not going to endorse El-Sayed unless the Senate candidate increased outreach to his district’s Jewish community. The state senator backed out of doing so following Piker’s stream, Semafor reported.
El-Sayed’s connection to Piker, with whom he campaigned ahead of the August primary, has followed the Senate candidate’s race throughout the summer — even as the Democratic nominee tries to separate himself from the streamer’s comments.
“I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” El-Sayed wrote in a statement.
But a slate of Jewish Democrats said Tuesday that they think El-Sayed needs to take a stronger stance against Piker and further disavow the streamer’s rhetoric before it tanks the Senate candidate’s campaign altogether.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois), who chairs the New Democrat Coalition, criticized El-Sayed for what he sees as refusing “to condemn the words of Hasan Piker, his friend and frequent campaign surrogate.”
“It is disingenuous for El-Sayed to try to distance himself from Piker without specifically condemning, refuting, or even just rejecting Piker’s hateful rhetoric,” Schneider wrote in a press release Tuesday. “Claiming that no one speaks for him except himself and his team is not enough.”
Gottheimer on Tuesday reiterated his call to pass his resolution denouncing antisemitic rhetoric from online personalities like Piker and Candace Owens, a measure he introduced in April with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-New York).
El-Sayed’s potential Senate colleagues also weighed in: Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) said that while Piker has been “trafficking in antisemitic tropes for a while,” his recent statement “is a new low.”
“In a time where political violence and anti-semitism has been spiking — and where just 6 months ago Michigan had a nearly deadly event of anti-semitic mass violence at Temple Israel — no one should causally be suggesting that anyone, Jews or otherwise, are to blame for being targeted,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) wrote on X.
During a Tuesday news conference meant to address a rise in Islamophobic rhetoric, El-Sayed took a moment to denounce antisemitism and uplift Judaism, which he called “a beautiful faith that rhymes with so much of my own.”
“Insofar as there are disagreements about foreign policy, my hope is that folks understand where those disagreements align and also understand that that does not come at the cost of Jewish safety,” the Democrat said, referencing earlier conversations with Moss.
El-Sayed’s news conference came after Jake Lang, a self-described anti-Islamic activist and Jan. 6 riot participant, held protests this month in Dearborn, home to the highest proportion of Muslims in the country. The Senate candidate has faced Islamophobic rhetoric leading up to the general campaign, and spoke on Tuesday alongside other statewide candidates and religious leaders.
Republican opponent Mike Rogers has tried to court Jewish voters who may be hesitant to back El-Sayed over his criticism of Israel, but those efforts have so far seen limited success.
Meanwhile, a number of other congressional Democrats have pushed to disavow Piker’s language as the party grapples with growing divisions among voters on sending military aid to Israel.
“There is a bright line between vigorous debate and rhetoric that stokes hatred toward our neighbors. Mr. Piker has crossed that line, repeatedly and unmistakably,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) said in a statement.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Michigan) was one of the first Democrats to speak out against Piker and defend Moss. She told reporters on Tuesday that El-Sayed — whom she has not endorsed — had “not reached out to me yet. If he would, I would have some questions,” referencing the candidate’s “past associations” with Piker.
Scholten and Piker exchanged heated messages Monday on X after the congresswoman called his comments “unacceptable.”
Piker hit back on X, calling Scholten “an israel 1st congresswoman” who was “vying for the spotlight.”
“There’s only one of us hurting the chances of a Democratic majority in November…and it ain’t me!” Scholten replied.
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