# What El-Sayed said about US funding for Israel > Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed criticizes US military aid to Israel as money that should fund schools and healthcare, drawing fire from rival Haley Stevens. - Title: What El-Sayed said about US funding for Israel · PolitiFact - Summary: Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed criticizes US military aid to Israel as money that should fund schools and healthcare, drawing fire from rival Haley… - Keywords: abdul el-sayed, haley stevens, michigan senate race, israel, us military aid, 2026 election, democratic primary, gaza war, politics, fact check, El-Sayed, funding - Source: PolitiFact — https://politifact.com/article/2026/oct/30/el-sayed-stevens-michigan-israel-midterms - Author: Amy Sherman - Published: 2026-10-30T22:57:03+00:00 - Read time: 4 min - Topics: abdul el-sayed, haley stevens, michigan senate race, israel, us military aid, 2026 election, democratic primary, gaza war, politics, fact check ## Stevens attacks El-Sayed over Israel ad U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens criticized Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's statements on Israel and called on him to condemn a controversial digital ad two days before a planned joint appearance. ## The ad's controversial message Rebellion PAC's digital ad showed a couple in a grocery store. The woman tells the man not to buy eggs because we have to set that seven dollars aside for killing Palestinians. > we have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians ## The ad contrasts El-Sayed and Rogers The ad ends by saying Republican nominee Mike Rogers is for they slash them, showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It states Abdul El-Sayed is for you. ## Who created and funded the ad Cenk Uygur, founder of Rebellion PAC and co-creator of The Young Turks, first ran a version in twenty twenty-four when he ran for president. The PAC spent one thousand dollars on the current digital ad. ## Stevens says El-Sayed will condemn it Stevens said in an October thirtieth social post that she heard El-Sayed planned to condemn the ad after his campaign said it was not affiliated with it. ## Stevens accuses El-Sayed of blaming Israel Stevens wrote the ad dramatized an argument El-Sayed made in his own words: that Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, healthcare and childcare. > that Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, health care and childcare ## Stevens calls for apology and clarity Stevens called on El-Sayed to apologize for his statements and to get Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford. > get "Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford." ## Israel aid is a hot election issue U.S. funding for Israel and the Israel-Gaza war has been a hot topic in congressional elections, including in Michigan. In July, nearly half of House Democrats voted to cut off aid. ## The planned unity event The November first event at a Black church was intended to show unity on the left and includes Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., to increase turnout among Black voters. ## Expert: Stevens mischaracterizes El-Sayed Stephen Zunes, professor of politics at University of San Francisco, said El-Sayed focused on unfair taxes and Pentagon spending, not solely Israel, and criticized arms use in war crimes. ## El-Sayed responds to the controversy In a statement posted on X on October thirtieth, El-Sayed said his campaign is focused on defeating Rogers and lowering prices, not relitigating the primary. > This should be the priority for all of us right now ## El-Sayed criticizes Israel military aid El-Sayed often criticizes U.S. government funding for Israel and says it should be spent on domestic priorities like education, healthcare and childcare. ## El-Sayed's West Bank apartheid comment In a podcast interview with Daily Show host Jon Stewart, El-Sayed said the money spent to subsidize apartheid in the West Bank should be used on the West Side of Detroit. > The money that we are spending to subsidize apartheid in the West Bank is money that should be used on the West Side (of Detroit) ## El-Sayed calls Israel an affordability issue In an October twenty-ninth rally in Kalamazoo, El-Sayed said taxes should fund domestic priorities, not dropping bombs on somebody else and their kids. > It shouldn't be this hard to pay your taxes and know that that money is going to be spent on you and your kids rather than dropping bombs on somebody else and their kids ## El-Sayed links Israel to high gas prices El-Sayed said Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged President Donald Trump to begin the war in Iran, which sent gasoline prices soaring. The U.S. spent forty-seven point one billion dollars on the Iran war. ## El-Sayed opposes all foreign military funding El-Sayed said he does not think the U.S. should fund foreign militaries generally, not just Israel. That includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. > I don't think we should be funding foreign militaries generally ## El-Sayed also blames Trump and proposes taxes El-Sayed criticized the Trump administration for cutting education funding and proposed higher taxes on the wealthy to pay for programs like universal healthcare. ## Cutting Israel aid would not guarantee domestic spending Foreign military aid comes from the State Department and Defense Department. If Congress cut aid to Israel, it would not automatically go to any domestic program like schools or healthcare. ## The scale of U.S. aid to Israel The U.S.provides about three point eight billion dollars in military aid to Israel annually.Spending has escalated since October seventh, twenty twenty-three, with recent spending between sixteen point three and twenty-one point seven billion dollars. ## Key takeaway Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed says US military aid to Israel should fund domestic priorities like schools and healthcare, but experts say cutting aid would not automatically increase domestic spending.