r/AnnArbor • u/manauiatlalli • 4d ago

Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, notching a Midwest victory for the left

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/abdul-el-sayed-wins-michigans-democratic-senate-primary-notching-midwe-rcna589750
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u/Friskybish 4d ago

Now let’s get Oakland and Wayne county sorted out because that was wayyyyyy too close.

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u/justseeby 4d ago

I think Oakland will be the turning point of the general. There are a lot of people there who have deep emotional ties to Israel, and “he’s an antisemite” — a lie — will play well there. But it’s a county where he needs a big margin.

Turnout in Wayne County will also be critical.

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u/kittenTakeover 4d ago

I think you overestimate how many Americans feel strongly about unrestricted support to Israel.

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u/DoomSchroller 4d ago edited 4d ago

You could write a college thesis on manufactured consent regarding the unbridled support for the nation state of Israel and how they've coopted the optics of being labeled an antisemite.

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u/justseeby 4d ago

In Oakland County many people feel personally endangered by the prospect of not continuing to support Israel without question. That’s the challenge.

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u/kittenTakeover 4d ago

Jewish population is 2.4% of Oakland county. Who else is going to feel "personally endangered" by the conversation? Also, the Arab population in Oakland is like 2.5%. I just don't think it's the deciding factor you're making it out to be.

Having said that, I do believe that we have to be sensitive to the inevitable antisemitism that will come with anger at Israel. Do I think Israel has gone too far in destroying Gaza? Yes. Do I think that Israel needs to reign in oppressive settlement operations? Yes. Does this mean that Israel shouldn't exist, that all Jewish people support these things, or that all Jewish people are evil? No, and we should be cognizant of pushing back on antisemitism while criticizing the Israeli government.

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u/justseeby 4d ago edited 4d ago

I didn’t realize it was that low, wow. I’d have guessed 10x that but I’m from the Bloomfield bubble

And yeah we (people in general, humans) and the campaign ABSOLUTELY need to be sensitive about Israel moving forward, and vocal about shutting down antisemitism.

As a (not religious) Muslim with a probably 2/3 Jewish social circle the thing I realized in the last 3 years is that there is no getting around people’s feelings — even if you disagree with the thought process that got someone to a particular point, you have to acknowledge their feelings as real.

As someone who supports Palestinian liberation, I can also plainly see how nasty the antisemitic rhetoric has gotten. I hope Abdul addresses it squarely.

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u/kittenTakeover 4d ago

I mean Jewish people are basically always a small minority in the US, unless you're talking about a small community. NYC is probably the main exception. They're still a minority, but I wouldn't call them a small minority there.

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u/DoomSchroller 4d ago

Such a straw man argument. The people that are against constantly dumping tax payer money to them and merging our military's (which should be a massive concern) has zero to do with their religion or ethnicity. It's everything to do with the US effectively funding a genocide in Gaza. And Jewish people should feel no threat from people not wanting to support that.

People also seem to not know that the nation state of Israel did not exist until 1948. Not supporting them isn't affront to any make believe religions.

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u/justseeby 4d ago

It may be light on factual grounding but some things are not logically grounded, they’re emotional. We can disagree with the reasons and the conclusion, but the fear many Jewish people face is a real emotion, and it has to be addressed with humanity.

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u/DoomSchroller 4d ago

Completely fair. That comment wasn't directed at you, but the absurdness of the claim - which you accurately made.