Democratic candidate sounds alarm on her party’s antisemitism after Jewish husband targeted

Michigan state senator and candidate in Democratic primary for US Senate laments rising antisemitism within the party, highlighting incident in which her Jewish husband and daughter were targeted with antisemitic slur.

By World Israel News Staff

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow said during a debate Thursday that her party has a problem with antisemitism, citing an incident in which her Jewish husband was targeted with a slur while walking with their daughter.

Asked directly whether antisemitism exists within the Democratic Party, McMorrow answered, “There is.”

“At the Democratic convention, an attendee yelled an antisemitic slur at my husband, who is Jewish and was walking with my 5-year-old daughter. That is terrifying,” McMorrow said.

The remarks came during a televised debate on Mackinac Island among the three leading Democrats seeking the nomination for Michigan’s open US Senate seat: McMorrow, US Rep. Haley Stevens and former Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed.

The seat is being vacated by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and is expected to be one of the most closely watched Senate races of the 2026 midterms. The Democratic nominee is expected to face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers, who lost narrowly to Sen. Elissa Slotkin in 2024.

McMorrow’s comments came as Israel and antisemitism have become recurring issues in the primary, reflecting broader divisions inside the Democratic Party over the US-Israel relationship, the war in Gaza and how to distinguish criticism of Israel’s government from hostility toward Jews.

McMorrow said Democrats must be able to criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government while making clear that American Jews are not responsible for Israel’s policies.

“We need to be able to state very clearly that what the Netanyahu government is doing — that the violence needs to end,” McMorrow said.

“We need to bring about long-term peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,” she added. “And turning that into not an anti-Netanyahu, but an anti-American Jewish message is dangerous.”

Her comments drew applause.

Stevens, who has positioned herself as a staunchly pro-Israel Democrat, also addressed antisemitism during the debate. She pointed to the March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, a synagogue in her district, which federal officials have described as antisemitic.

El-Sayed, a far-left progressive who has sharply criticized Israeli policy and US support for Israel, said it was important to separate respect for Jews from support for the Israeli government.

“I think it’s absolutely critical for us to differentiate between love, respect and admiration for Judaism and the Jewish people, and a continued policy that has us sending our money to a foreign government,” El-Sayed said, referring to Israel.

El-Sayed has faced criticism from pro-Israel groups and some Democrats over his rhetoric on Israel and over his association with the radical left-wing podcaster Hasan Piker, who has been accused of antisemitism. El-Sayed and his supporters have argued that criticism of Israel is being unfairly conflated with anti-Jewish prejudice.

The debate also highlighted other differences among the candidates, including campaign funding, health care and the Senate filibuster. El-Sayed attacked his opponents over corporate donations, while Stevens emphasized her record in Congress and McMorrow presented herself as a candidate focused on party unity and generational change.

“There is more that unites us than divides us,” McMorrow said in her closing remarks.