The Times of Israel

Michigan Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed distances himself from one of his most prominent boosters, the popular anti-Israel streamer Hasan Piker, after Piker said Jews were "making antisemitism worse" by linking their identities to Israel, and warned that someone would "take action" against them as a result.

In a statement, El-Sayed, a harsh critic of Israel, reiterates his opposition to antisemitism. But he does not directly condemn Piker's remarks or mention the streamer's name in his statement on the comments, which have drawn backlash. Piker campaigned alongside El-Sayed during his primary run for the state's Democratic nomination.

Earlier this week, Piker said on his stream that Jews were inviting danger if they continued tying their identities to Israel, which he called the "Jewish ISIS." Piker made the comments while discussing Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democratic candidate for US Congress who has yet to endorse El-Sayed, asking the Senate candidate to reach out to Jews in his district.

"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 says, with a picture of Moss on screen. "I don't know how people don't recognize how dangerous this predicament is, how dangerous this is for Jews."

At another point in the stream, he says, "You're running around basically tying your entire identity to a country that inevitably will be seen as basically Jewish ISIS, and you're saying, as Jews, 'This is all we care about.' You're making antisemitism worse."

In a statement today, El-Sayed says, "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters. Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk."

He refers to Piker as a "Twitch streamer" without referencing Piker's involvement in his campaign.

"But I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople," he says in the statement, taking a shot at "politicians and pundits [who] try to make this race about a Twitch streamer."