Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed spoke at a fundraising event in Dearborn this week alongside Arab American publisher and political activist Osama Siblani, according to local coverage and a report by the Washington Free Beacon.
The Dearborn event
The event was held at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn. The Free Beacon reported that approximately 200 community leaders and organizers attended and that Siblani spoke before El-Sayed.
Dearborn.org published photographs from the gathering under the headline "Dearborn and Dearborn Heights Unite in Support of Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate." The Free Beacon described the event as a fundraiser and reported that the local outlet said it had met its fundraising goal.
Why Siblani draws scrutiny
The event has drawn attention because of Siblani's past statements about Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah.
Siblani is the publisher of The Arab American News and heads the Arab American Political Action Committee. He has long been an influential political figure in Dearborn and has met or appeared with Democratic officeholders and candidates.
He has also faced criticism from Jewish organizations and political opponents for past rhetoric.
Siblani's past statements on Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah
In reporting on a September 2024 rally, the Free Beacon quoted Siblani referring to then-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a "hero." The outlet also reported that after anti-Israel chants at the rally, Siblani said of Israel: "We will take you back to Poland."
The statement has been widely criticized because of Poland's central place in the history of the Holocaust. Siblani's comments were directed in the context of Israel and its leadership, but the quotation has been cited by critics as evidence of hostility toward Israeli Jews.
Earlier reporting has also quoted Siblani describing Hamas and Hezbollah as "freedom fighters." In a 2022 speech, he urged supporters to fight Israel "within their means," including with "stones," "guns" or "their hands."
What the event does and does not establish
Those statements are relevant to scrutiny of the fundraiser because El-Sayed is running for a U.S. Senate seat and has accepted support from Siblani's political organization.
At the same time, attendance at an event with another political figure does not by itself establish agreement with every statement that person has made.
The Free Beacon said El-Sayed's campaign did not respond to its requests for comment or video of the fundraiser.
El-Sayed is running against Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's November 3 Senate election. His campaign has faced repeated questions over associations with controversial activists and speakers, while El-Sayed and his allies have argued that opponents are using those relationships to distract from his policy agenda.
The available reporting establishes that El-Sayed and Siblani appeared at the same Dearborn event and that Siblani spoke before him. It does not, by itself, establish that El-Sayed endorsed Siblani's past statements about Israel, Hamas or Hezbollah.