Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed responds to accusations that he is an anti-semite during an interview this morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” <\/p>\n
ABDUL EL-SAYED: I love and revere Judaism and the Jewish people. I believe they are a light unto the world. I grew up in a community that had a large Jewish population. I was so grateful to be invited to seder and shul, and to bar and bat mitzvahs. I’m honored for what I learned and got to share with my Jewish brothers and sisters. But they are not the same as AIPAC and Israel. AIPAC is an organization that spent $ 30 million to beat me, so they could have one more vote in the U.S. Senate to guarantee that our tax dollars would be sent abroad to subsidize a foreign government’s military, to do the worst things — genocide, apartheid, get us into wars we have no business fighting. I’m running for Senate in Michigan. I believe we have a responsibility here in Michigan. I want our tax dollars spent to provide good schools and roads, rather than be sent abroad to subsidize foreign militaries. That’s not just Israel; it is also Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan. I believe in international law, peace, dignity, and equal rights for all people, and a process that allows a free Palestinian people and free Jewish people to come together around what they believe the ultimate peace should look like, and our tax dollars should be spent here in Michigan rather than to subsidize foreign militaries abroad. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here is the full interview: