Lawmakers condemned remarks by left-wing, anti-Israel influencer Hasan Piker that suggested American Jews could face violence because they support Israel, as Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, sought to distance his campaign from the streamer.
During a recent Twitch stream, Piker discussed Michigan state senator Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democrat who won the Democratic primary for an open U.S. House seat in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District. Piker displayed a photo of Moss and said, “If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is gonna come around and take action not against Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.”
In a statement on Monday, Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), vice chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, wrote that Piker’s “call for violence against American Jews, and directly naming a Michigan official (and future Congressional colleague) Jeremy Moss are unacceptable. Full stop.”
“Piker is a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance,” she stated. “It’s dangerous for everyone. We should all be calling out this disgusting rhetoric so it loses its grip on our politics once and for all.”
Piker responded, calling Scholten “an Israel 1st congresswoman” and claimed that anti-Zionism is a “90/10 issue.”
A July Pew Research Center survey found that 65% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents had a favorable view of the Israeli people, compared with 43% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. The partisan divide was wider over the Israeli government: 51% of Republicans viewed it favorably, compared with 16% of Democrats.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) stated that “the only one inciting violence against American Jews is Piker and his rhetoric.”
“For the future of our party, Democrats have to call out his hate and condemn these dangerous views,” he said. “Anyone campaigning with him is part of the problem.”
Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, associated Piker’s “call for violence” with the El-Sayed campaign.
“Absolutely disgusting,” Rogers said. “If Abdul El-Sayed had any courage at all, he would call this out and disavow Hasan Piker once and for all.”
‘Fake condemnation’
El-Sayed campaigned with Piker during his successful Democratic primary bid, including appearances at campaign events and on Michigan college campuses. Piker was also among the guests at a Detroit pool party attended by El-Sayed on the eve of the Aug. 4 primary.
In a statement on Monday, El-Sayed addressed Piker’s remarks while stopping short of directly condemning the streamer.
“I believe all Americans deserve the right to advocate for what they believe without fear of violence,” El-Sayed stated. “This is particularly true for communities that have been intimidated for their beliefs in the past.”
“But I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” El-Sayed wrote. “And while politicians and pundits try to make this race about a Twitch streamer, we’re going to be talking about gas, groceries, good schools and healthcare.”
The statement followed earlier criticism of El-Sayed’s relationship with Piker. El-Sayed previously said he was “less focused on folks who are campaigning with me” when asked whether he would renounce the streamer. He later explicitly disavowed Piker’s 2019 remark that the United States “deserved” the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Democrats for Mike Rogers, a group of Democrats supporting the Republican nominee, called El-Sayed’s latest statement a “fake condemnation.”
“Notice he never actually condemns Hasan Piker’s calls for violence against Jeremy Moss,” the group stated. “It’s shameful.”
