Citing concerns about Israel, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said he was still debating whether to back Abdul E-Sayed for U.S. Senate despite the two Democrats' private meeting on Friday.
“I have encouraged him to continue to talk about his positions publicly,” Schor said in an interview with WKAR News over the weekend.
He pointed to two issues that he hopes to hear El-Sayed “expand upon" publicly.
One was El-Sayed's view on Israel’s right to exist, which El-Sayed has stopped short of embracing. The other was his position on U.S. military support to Israel to defend itself, which he emphatically opposes.
Schor said he didn’t know “yet” if he would endorse El-Sayed.
“Before I put my name behind something,” he said, “I want to make sure that it’s something I can put my name behind.”
Added Schor, “I don’t know if my endorsement is necessary for this race,” predicting El-Sayed will “do really well in Lansing.”
“The only thing I know,” he added, “is I will not be endorsing Mike Rogers,” El-Sayed’s Republican opponent on Nov. 3 for the open Senate seat.
Schor said being Jewish was influencing his concerns about positions taken by El-Sayed, who, if elected, would be the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate.
“I am the mayor of Lansing, and I represent Lansing residents,” Schor said. “But I also, you know, am Jewish.”
Schor was elected to his third consecutive term last year with two-thirds of the votes.
He said he and El-Sayed had a “good conversation” Friday in downtown Lansing after El Sayed held a town hall.
El Sayed told reporters twice, “We had a great conversation.”
The two Democrats have declined to talk about what they said to each other in what both have described as a private conversation.
The meeting was at Schor’s request, the mayor said, adding that he never endorses without a face-to-face meeting first.
“We had been trying to find a time to chat, and it just hadn’t happened. He’s a busy guy, right?”
Schor supported U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary, which El-Sayed narrowly won Aug. 4 despite more than $30 million in support for Stevens from pro-Israeli organizations.
“The opportunity really wasn’t there until after he won the primary” to talk to El-Sayed, Schor said. He added that he was out of town for El-Sayed’s last campaign trip to Lansing Sept. 11.
Besides Israel, “There are lot of things that I think are important in the U.S. Senate race,” Schor said. He mentioned a number of domestic issues without citing any disagreement with El-Sayed on them.
On Israel, though, Schor said he wants to know El-Sayed’s view on “does it have the right to exist.”
“There are 23 Muslim countries in the Arab League, which is fine,” he said. “Vatican City is a religious country. The Church of England is the official religion” of England.
“I want to make sure that folks believe that Jews have a right to a homeland.”
Schor referred to El-Sayed’s interview with CNN on July 2, when he was asked if he believes Israel has a “right to exist.” The then-primary candidate replied, “Israel exists. The question is whether or not we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to do genocide and apartheid instead of investing in our own kids.”
Said Schor, leaving the door open on this issue: “There are still questions publicly, and I'll see what he says publicly, and again what we talked about privately is between us. But I and I have encouraged him to continue to talk about his positions publicly.”
As for funding Israel militarily, Schor said El-Sayed has been “very clear,” as he was Thursday in the first of two debates with Rogers.
“What I heard was him basically saying that he didn’t want to spend U.S. dollars on any foreign military assistance,” Schor said.
“That’s a question for him to expand upon,” he added.
In the TV debate, Rick Albin of WOOD-TV asked El-Sayed, “If Israel were attacked tomorrow by Iran or another state actor, would you vote to provide defensive weapons necessary to protect the Israeli people?”
Said El-Sayed: “I’ve been absolutely clear. I want our tax dollars spent here” on schools and health care. “I want to be sure we are taking care of our people here.”
Then he added, “Let’s be clear about what has happened here. Israel has pushed us to go to war with Iran.”
Schor was also asked about Rogers’ claim in the debate that El-Sayed’s “biggest funders” support the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamic organization. The U.S. has designated some of its branches as terrorists.
“Dark money is something we’ve always seen,” Schor said. “I don’t know who’s spending what on who.”
“What I care about is 51% of Democrats out him forward, and I think he came out of the gate saying that he wants to represent everybody.”
El-Sayed made a direct appeal to Jewish voters in his victory speech after beating Stevens by fewer than 14,000 votes.
“I’m grateful to have grown up in a community where I got so much exposure and empowerment from the Jewish community,” El-Sayed said. “Judaism and the Jewish people are a light unto the world, a beautiful faith that rhymes with so much of my own.”
He also pledged his “commitment to Jewish safety” and said his “hurt people hurt people” remark after an alleged terrorist rammed his car into a synagogue was a “mistake.”
Many leading Michigan Democrats have endorsed El-Sayed, including at least three who are Jewish: Attorney General Dana Nessel and two former U.S. House members, Sander Levin and his son Andy.
Schor predicted that El-Sayed will do well among Jewish voters.
“He’ll take a sizeable amount of the Jewish vote. He won’t take all of it,” adding some will vote for Rogers.
“You know, Jews are not … we’re not one entity.”
