‘Not the Jewish party’: Candidate to lead Michigan Dems under fire for antisemitic comments
Al Williams said of Jewish Democrats, ‘They cannot control the entire party’
Members of the Michigan delegation at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21, 2024. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh February 12, 2025
A candidate to head Michigan’s Democratic Party is facing backlash for suggesting his party is “not the Jewish party.” Al Williams, a Democratic activist and organizer from Detroit also said that voices beyond American Jews should be heard in discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The war in Gaza was a point of contention during last year’s presidential primary in the key battleground state, with more than 100,000 voting in protest of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the conflict.
“This is not the Jewish party. This is the Democratic Party,” Williams said last week in remarks at a virtual candidate forum co-hosted by the Arab American Democratic Caucus. “There are more voices than just Zionists in this party. There are more voices than just Jewish Americans within this party.” Williams was responding to a question about his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what policy changes he believes the party should consider following Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat in the presidential election. The remarks were first reported by the Detroit News on Tuesday.
Williams is one of three Democrats vying for the chairperson position at the party’s state convention on Feb. 22 in Detroit, and the only Black candidate in the race.
Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate Democrat who is affiliated with the more traditional pro-Israel camp of the party, called the comments “deeply offensive” and “disqualifying.” Stevens said it played into antisemitic tropes that Jews are powerful and failed to “recognize the broad spectrum of Jewish belief and political engagement.”
WATCH full remarks —Al Williams, candidate for Michigan Dem Party chair:
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) February 12, 2025
“This is not the Jewish party... There are more voices than just Zionists in this party. There are more voices than just Jewish Americans within this party.” https://t.co/PJXnhb8ktI pic.twitter.com/xkrcAuqw7J
The Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, formed in 2019 to recruit Jewish Democrats to run for office and speak out on issues important to the Jewish community, has endorsed Curtis Hertel, a former state representative from Lansing, for the party’s state chair. Hertel, who ran unsuccessfully for the House seat vacated by now Senator Elissa Slotkin, is seen as a favorite and also has the support of the state’s Black Caucus.
The more than yearlong conflict in Gaza played a pivotal role in the presidential election. Former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris faced resistance within the Democratic Party from the Uncommitted movement, which recruited more than 700,000 voters who cast a protest ballot against Biden in the primaries and demonstrated against the party’s establishment for denying a Palestinian voice during the summer convention. Harris, who walked a fine line on the war, making a forceful case for Israel’s security and Palestinian self-determination, lost the swing state of Michigan by 80,000 votes.
“People in Southeast Michigan are socially networked that all knew someone who had family that passed away in Gaza,” Nura Sediqe, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, said on the school’s podcast MSU Today.
Trump, in his outreach to Arab American voters, pledged to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon and to deliver peace in the Middle East.
What Al Williams said at the forum
During last week’s forum, Williams was asked to offer his opinion on a post-election survey – conducted by YouGov for the Institute for Middle East Understanding – that showed that 29% of voters who chose Biden in 2020 and cast a ballot for a different candidate besides Harris in 2024 cited ending the violence in Gaza as their top voting issue.
Williams called Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza “genocide” and said the Democratic Party should adopt the stance of activists calling for restrictions on weapons sale to Israel.
“The Democratic Party has always stood against that,” he said. “That is one of our traditions and values, except for when it comes to certain countries. And as chair, I’m going to stand on those values.”
Williams doubled down on the antisemitic trope about Jews controlling the Democratic establishment when contacted by a Detroit News reporter on Tuesday. “They cannot control the entire party,” Williams said of Jewish Americans. “They are one of many voices.”
Rima Mohammad, a Palestinian and co-founder of The People’s Coalition, said she was also offended by the comments made by Williams. “If that’s what Al thinks we want to hear as Palestinians, he is completely wrong,” Mohammad said.
Responding to the same question about the war in Gaza, Hertel said the Democratic Party must be a space for diverse viewpoints and voiced his support for the ceasefire deal. “I want the Israeli people and the Palestinian people to have some autonomy and the ability to live their lives as they see fit,” Hertel said.
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