Abdul el Sayed apologizes to Michigan Jews for controversial synagogue attack statement

Published August 29, 2026 5:09pm ET | Updated August 30, 2026 12:11am ET



Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed apologized to a group of Jewish voters on Saturday for a statement he made in March in response to a Hezbollah-inspired attack on a synagogue in West Bloomfield. 

While at an event hosted by the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, el Sayed said, “If my statement caused pain, I’m sorry. That’s not what I intended,” according to the New York Times. El Sayed came under fire in the spring for saying in a video statement that “hurt people hurt people” after a rifle-wielding Islamic terrorist drove a truck into the Temple Israel synagogue in what the FBI called a “targeted act of violence.”

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