Abdul El-Sayed Gives Conditional Answer on Israel’s Right to Exist in “60 Minutes” Interview

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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed gave a conditional answer when asked whether Israel has a right to exist, in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview that aired two days before Tuesday’s election. Asked by interviewer Ross Douthat whether Palestine has a right to exist, El-Sayed answered yes without hesitation, according to the Daily Wire. When Douthat asked the same question about Israel, El-Sayed replied, “Yes, if there is a shared understanding.”

Douthat appeared to stop him, saying, “Wait, you said —” El-Sayed continued: “Let me just, let me just … I believe, and this is the problem with this debate, we start from where we sit rather than start from principles.” He added, “If the Palestinian people decide — and the Israeli people decide — that they want two states for two people, and they decide that on equal terms, I’m for it. If they decide that they want one state shared in a different way, I’m for that.” The exchange spread quickly across conservative media on Monday, with Townhall, RedState, PJ Media, the Western Journal and the Daily Wire all running stories on it.

Details & Background

El-Sayed, 42, is a former public health official and the son of Egyptian immigrants. He won the August Democratic primary by less than one point, according to CBS News, and faces Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers, a former Army officer and FBI agent. El-Sayed supports “Medicare for All” and an arms embargo on Israel. In the same interview, he described his overall view of the conflict this way: “I believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike.”

The answer was not the first time El-Sayed has faced questions about Israel. In May, Jewish Insider reported on a recording from a campaign event in Pontiac, Michigan, in which El-Sayed said he struggles with whether Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. In October, when NewsNation’s Leland Vittert asked him whether Israel or Iran is the bigger threat, he called it “a dumb question.” Pressed by Fox News’ Bret Baier over his signature on a 2012 letter backing former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, he told Baier to “be a journalist” and said, “I have never been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Late last month, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called past comments by El-Sayed and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Israel “wrong.”

Reactions

Rogers drew a sharp contrast in his own “60 Minutes” segment. “I passionately defend Israel’s right to defend itself and to exist as a Jewish state. That sets me at odds with my opponent right off the bat,” Rogers said. “He refuses to even acknowledge that Israel has the right to exist.” Rogers has also pointed to El-Sayed’s silence on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, according to the Daily Wire, and Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Tim Sheehy have raised concerns about El-Sayed gaining access to classified intelligence if elected.

The controversy comes as El-Sayed’s campaign is reeling from Rep. Haley Stevens’ endorsement of Rogers. Stevens cited El-Sayed’s association with streamer Hasan Piker and his refusal to denounce a Rebellion PAC ad she considered antisemitic. President Donald Trump went after El-Sayed at a Sunday rally in Dubuque, Iowa, calling him “a disaster” and “a nasty guy.” El-Sayed has tried to keep the focus elsewhere. “I’m just less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all,” he told reporters, according to Fox News.

Why This Matters to You

A U.S. senator votes on military aid, arms sales, intelligence oversight and the confirmation of national security officials. Israel is America’s closest ally in the Middle East, and the United States has worked alongside it against Iran, whose regime has threatened both nations for decades. A senator who places conditions on whether that ally has a right to exist would bring that view to every one of those votes, and Michigan voters are entitled to weigh it before they cast their ballots.

The stakes reach far beyond Michigan. Republicans hold the Senate 53 to 47, and CBS News says control of the chamber could hinge on this race. If El-Sayed wins, he would join a Senate Democratic caucus already divided over Israel, and his vote could help decide whether the next Congress stands firmly with America’s allies or moves toward the arms embargo he has endorsed. With polls opening Tuesday morning, El-Sayed’s answer on national television may be the last thing many undecided voters hear from him.