Eman Abdelhadi, the half-sister of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, delivered an "October 7th blessing" on Oct. 7, 2024, marking the one-year anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel. The video, posted to Instagram, included Abdelhadi stating, "Allahu Akbar," which she explained means "God is greater," and that the phrase reminds her that "the horizon of justice is just around the corner."
Throughout the video, Abdelhadi, who appeared wearing a keffiyeh, did not mention the approximately 1,200 people killed by Hamas militants during the attacks. She described the phrase "Allahu Akbar" as a reminder that "no matter how great the brutality, the oppression, the intensity of what we're going through," a greater justice exists.
A campaign spokeswoman for Abdul El-Sayed told Fox News Digital that while her brother "loves his sister and also disagrees with her on a number of political positions and the rhetoric she's chosen to use, including on foreign policy," voters should focus on El-Sayed's record and platform. "Abdul is the one on the ballot and his record of public service and his platform is what matters to voters here in Michigan. His campaign has always been about his love for America and Michigan."
Abdelhadi, a professor at the University of Chicago, concluded her statement by saying, "There is something greater than even the strongest armies and for me that's God." She added, "I hope you know that we have a lot of work ahead of us and that we need each other to do that work. We have an imperative to not just imagine a better future, but to build one together." She finished by saying, "I’ll see you on the streets."
The video was a collaborative post with "Rabbis4Ceasefire," which described the event as "a moment of grief for lives lost between 10/7/23 and 10/7/2024." Abdelhadi stated in a comment that Rabbis4Ceasefire had organized the event and asked her to participate.
The resurfaced video prompted criticism on social media. "Jewish Michiganders are proudly putting country over party and rejecting Abdul El-Sayed’s extremism. We must put country over party and elect Mike Rogers," wrote Democrats for Mike Rogers, El-Sayed's Republican challenger. Commentator Eyal Yakoby wrote, "Abdul El-Sayed's Sister, Eman Abdelhadi, recorded a celebration video in reaction to October 7th."
This is not the first controversy involving Abdelhadi's activism. She was arrested in October 2025 and charged with felony counts of aggravated battery to a government employee and misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing a peace officer during protests outside a suburban Chicago ICE detention facility. She allegedly spat on an Illinois state trooper.
Abdul El-Sayed himself has faced scrutiny for his statements regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. In a fundraising email on the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, he criticized the Israeli government's military operations without mentioning Hamas's initial killings, and has at times equated Hamas and the Israeli government. El-Sayed has also drawn criticism for his past association with streamer Hasan Piker, who once stated that America "deserved 9/11," though El-Sayed has called the remark "dumb" and accused critics of cancel culture for demanding he disavow Piker.