A group of 16 Michigan rabbis and other Jewish clergy have banded together and signed an open letter that was published Tuesday, which, without naming U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, states that Democratic candidates who wish to obtain Jewish votes must abide by five “nonnegotiable” principles.

Other Jewish Democrats are taking a different tack: banding together to support El-Sayed’s opponent, the Republican candidate Mike Rogers.

The five principles laid out in the letter are:

• “Jewish safety — including for Zionist Jews — in Michigan and across America”;
• “Our right to define our own Jewish identities”;
• “Jewish sovereignty in Israel”;
• “Welcoming our full participation in American political life”; and
• “An affirmative vision for a better future in the Middle East.”

Zioness Action Fund, affiliated with the Zioness advocacy group, a progressive Zionist organization, backed the initiative. Zioness says that it’s “Unabashedly progressive. Unapologetically Zionist,” and has worked to make progressive spaces more inclusive of Zionism since the left’s turn against Zionism after the Oct. 7 attack in 2023.

One of the signatories of the letter, Rabbi Josh Whinston, leader of the Reform Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor, who had met with El-Sayed, said he believes the candidate has great potential but is concerned about his anti-Israel stance.

“I think he has the potential to be an amazing, visionary leader in the state of Michigan and in this country,” he said Monday, ahead of the letter’s publication. “But his vision needs to be more inclusive.”