Michigan Senate hopeful Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has formally apologized to Jewish Democrats for comments he made following an attack on a synagogue in March. El-Sayed issued his apology on Saturday at a Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus event, expressing regret for remarks that highlighted the terrorist attacker's family members being killed in Israeli strikes.
"I made a mistake," El-Sayed stated. "I should have issued a statement, of course condemning it, and it just should have been the full stop."
El-Sayed explained that his apology was necessary because his comments were "misconstrued" and could have been interpreted as justifying an act he did not intend to justify. "To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m really sorry. That was not my intention," he told reporters.
The incident occurred on March 12 when Ayman Mohamed Ghazali, who was originally from Lebanon, drove a truck into the Temple Israel preschool in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Approximately 100 children were present. Ghazali died by suicide following a shootout with security personnel. No congregants were harmed, although one security officer sustained injuries.
Following the attack, El-Sayed had initially released a statement condemning the act as "heinous" and reaffirming his commitment to the rights of Jewish people. However, he then added a remark about learning from epidemiology that "hurt people hurt people," referencing Ghazali's loss of family, including two children, in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon the previous week. He noted that they were "innocent people."
At the time, El-Sayed's comments sparked backlash from many Jewish Americans. The candidate has been working to unify the Democratic party as he faces Republican Mike Rogers in the upcoming election, following a competitive primary.
During a press briefing on Saturday, El-Sayed also declined to denounce controversial statements made by far-left streamer Hasan Piker, with whom he had campaigned during his primary. Piker has faced criticism for past remarks, including one from 2019 where he reportedly claimed "America deserved 9/11," and for comments defending Hezbollah and Hamas. When pressed about his ties to Piker, El-Sayed stated, "I am not interested in a conversation about a social media person in California."