🟡🔵 Slowly at first, and now all at once, Michigan has become the central battleground in the country’s war over the U.S.-Israel relationship, as well as the public’s ability to debate it freely.
Campuses nationwide erupted in 2024 over U.S. complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide, with authorities rolling up encampments, disciplining students, and in some cases pursuing criminal charges.
Michigan moved especially aggressively. After an Ann Arbor prosecutor declined to bring felony charges against protest organizers, state Attorney General Dana Nessel intervened. Now, after those cases ended in acquittals and dismissals, the federal government has stepped in, unveiling a sweeping felony indictment against eight pro-Palestinian advocates.
The political backlash has been just as striking. Protesters mobilized against University of Michigan Regents who backed the crackdown. Jordan Acker, one of its fiercest advocates, was replaced by Lebanese American Amir Makled, who ran against the repression. Eli Savit, the prosecutor who refused to charge protesters, won the Democratic nomination for attorney general.
In Michigan’s Senate race, despite millions spent by AIPAC and allied groups, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has emerged as the Democratic frontrunner over Mallory McMorrow who has shied away from strongly criticizing Israel’s conduct and AIPAC-endorsed Haley Stevens, with the campaign centering on U.S. support for Israel.
Across the board, Michigan voters are demanding a change in the relationship with Israel. State and federal leaders, meanwhile, are pulling every lever available to resist that democratic shift. Tom Perkins and Ryan Grim write about how “The Issue of Israel Is Ending Democracy In Michigan” for Drop Site. Link in reply.
🎥Video El-Sayed with
@headintheoffice.
This isn't hard: Condemn Israel’s genocide without equivocation. Israel’s violent ethnic cleansing of Palestine is wrong. This is simple and any leader should be able to say so. The fact my colleague cannot bring herself to say that is concerning.