Democrat accuses Israel of dragging America into war with Iran, while Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff says Israeli forces violated international law in Gaza

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed declined to say whether Iran or Israel poses a greater threat to the United States during his first debate Thursday against Republican Mike Rogers, highlighting sharp divisions over Middle East policy ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

El-Sayed called the question a “ridiculous hypothetical,” saying both countries “have proven dangerous in their own way.” He accused Israel of drawing Washington into a “stupid war” with Iran that was driving up US gasoline prices.

“They wanted us to go to war with [Iran] and their war aims were what? The annexation of southern Lebanon,” El-Sayed claimed. Israel has made no territorial claim to southern Lebanon and entered the area after Hezbollah launched an attack from there during the conflict.

Asked whether he would support defensive weapons for Israel if it came under attack, El-Sayed suggested he would not. Rogers, meanwhile, said he “staunchly” supported “the right to exist for the Jewish state, and the right to defend itself in a very difficult neighborhood.”

Rogers also accused El-Sayed’s backers of having links to extremist organizations, alleging that “his biggest funders are from a group that supports the Muslim Brotherhood.” He further claimed the candidate received money from people who openly support Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda.

The remarks appeared to reference donors associated with the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), whose leader praised Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on Israel before the organization later condemned attacks on civilians. CAIR denies allegations of Muslim Brotherhood ties. Rogers also criticized El-Sayed’s family connections to Islamic organizations and an aid group cited in legal proceedings, though no evidence was presented that El-Sayed’s biological mother knew of wrongdoing by the organization.

Asked about reports that his campaign had requested that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee not advertise on his behalf, Rogers did not directly deny the claim. Instead, he said, “Anybody that wants to help my campaign… I’ll take all of that help.”

Rogers accused El-Sayed of failing to acknowledge the suffering caused by the October 7 massacre, citing rape, murders and other atrocities. El-Sayed, who faced criticism for not issuing a statement on the attack’s third anniversary, responded: “I’ve condemned that. I didn’t turn it into political theater like you just did.”

Rogers also questioned El-Sayed’s property ownership in Dubai and India.

After the debate, El-Sayed defended his relationship with online commentator Hasan Piker, who has expressed support for Hamas and other Iran-backed terror groups and argued that the US is a greater terrorist, “pound for pound,” than al-Qaeda. El-Sayed, who previously invited Piker to campaign with him, dismissed comparisons between Piker and President Donald Trump, saying, “To equate the most powerful person in the world with a streamer in California seems to me to just be — I’m not going to use the word — but silly.”

Ossoff: ‘No doubt’ Israel violated laws of war in Gaza

In Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff declined to definitively characterize Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as genocide, saying the question hinged on intent.

“The question of genocide is a question of whether a government has the specific intent to destroy a national or ethnic group, and that is a question for the International Criminal Court,” Ossoff said.

The International Criminal Court has sought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel and the US reject the court’s jurisdiction, and Washington has imposed sanctions on it, a move supported by Ossoff’s Republican challenger, Mike Collins.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Israeli forces prosecuting the war in Gaza violated the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law,” Ossoff said.

“I care deeply about the security of the Israeli people, among whom are members of my family,” he added. “I also care about innocent Palestinian life, and make no apology for my votes.”

Israel maintains that its military operations comply with international law, citing evacuation warnings and humanitarian aid as efforts to protect civilians. Ossoff did not directly say whether he would support the latest military aid package for Israel.

Ossoff attacks Collins over alleged extremist ties

The Georgia debate also featured a dispute over the war with Iran. Ossoff called the conflict a “disaster” and accused the Trump administration of entering the war based on “lies.”

Collins defended Trump’s decision, arguing that Iran was approaching nuclear weapons capability. He said international monitors “had already sounded the bells, the alarms that Iran was close to getting a nuclear weapon,” adding that “Iran doesn’t only want to decimate and kill Israel, they want us as well.”

Ossoff also attacked Collins over white supremacist material posted online by a former aide and his son-in-law.

“You’ve hired half the Third Reich to staff your congressional office and you have promoted neo-Nazi content online,” Ossoff charged. Invoking late civil rights leader John Lewis, he added, “If [civil rights icon and late US congressman] John Lewis were marching today from Selma to Montgomery, Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club.”

Collins said he had dismissed employees when necessary, stating, “when I had things happen — I’m a businessman — I fired ‘em,” and insisting that he has “condemned racism, antisemitism, hate.”