LANSING, MICHIGAN (VINnews) — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, the state’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, skipped her party’s nominating convention Saturday, saying she feared being harassed by pro-Palestinian activists after anti-Israel disruptions at an earlier Democratic gathering.

Nessel, a Democrat and the first Jewish person elected to statewide executive office in Michigan, said last month that she would not attend the Aug. 29 convention at the Lansing Center because she did not feel safe or welcome.

“I don’t feel safe going. I feel like my presence isn’t going to be welcome,” Nessel said at a roundtable with Jewish leaders. “I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at. I don’t want to get booed off the stage, irrespective of what I’m saying. And I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it’s been happening to me.”

Her absence came after pro-Israel speakers, including U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., were shouted down by anti-Israel activists at the Michigan Democratic Party’s April convention. Stevens later lost the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination to Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former local health official who has sharply criticized Israel.

El-Sayed has described Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as “genocide,” called Israeli actions “bloodthirsty,” and repeatedly declined to say directly whether Israel has a right to exist. After winning the nomination, he said he stands “in solidarity with my Jewish sisters and brothers” and that his “commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids.”

The Michigan Democratic Party said it rejects antisemitism and took steps to tighten security and enforce a code of conduct at Saturday’s convention.

“We reject antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hateful conduct,” party spokesman Derrick Honeyman said in a statement. “We are working diligently with stakeholders, elected officials, and party membership to prepare for our August convention and look forward to welcoming Michigan Democrats to the Lansing Center.”

Party leaders, including El-Sayed and gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, signed a message warning that “disruptive behavior or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated” and that violators would face “zero tolerance and immediate ejection.”

Jewish Democrats in Michigan said the dispute runs deeper than one weekend event.

Rabbi Asher Lopatin said many in the community remain shaken by the April convention. “People are traumatized from the previous convention,” he said. “Many people I talked to, many super progressive people, are really traumatized by the way they were treated, and the way Haley Stevens was booed.”

Lopatin, who recently appeared with Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, added: “It just shows how terrible these extremists are that they’re intimidating even the attorney general of our state. The Jewish community cannot cower.”

Stacy Gittleman, a longtime Democrat who attended the April meeting, told Fox News Digital she saw more Palestinian flags than American flags on the convention floor and described jeering and a breakdown in decorum.

Some Jewish leaders have been circulating an open letter urging Jewish Democrats and independents to support Rogers over El-Sayed. A person involved in the effort called it a “do-or-die moment,” saying many lifelong Democrats feel “homeless” in the party.

“It’s not just a leftward drift but has turned into an anti-Jewish drift as well,” the person said.

Joan Lowenstein, endorsement chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, said she had not heard from people who feared for their physical safety at the August convention, though some expected the atmosphere to be unpleasant. She said Jewish Democrats appear split over whether they can support El-Sayed.

Rogers said Jewish voters have described campus and community intimidation. “I’ve talked to two young women who were at University of Michigan who were afraid to walk to class. They couldn’t display their Star of David,” he said. “To say that they’re afraid is probably an understatement.”

Nessel, who is term-limited, has said she still agrees with El-Sayed on many domestic issues and would not vote for Rogers. She has also accused the party of failing to confront antisemitism, saying some members charged in connection with antisemitic vandalism, harassment or threats have remained welcome at party events.

Michigan’s Senate race is among a handful expected to decide control of the U.S. Senate. The state is home to more than 100,000 Jews, a majority of whom have historically voted Democratic.