Lawrence Deitch, former treasurer of the Michigan Democratic Party and current regent of the University of Michigan, said he will throw his support behind Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers instead of his Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed.

In a letter to The Detroit News, Deitch explained the reasons for crossing party lines to vote for a Republican, saying that it was not a decision he considered lightly given his support for union labor, the LGBTQ community, and DEI, as well as his desire to defeat President Donald Trump.

The university regent gave three reasons for his decision after expressing his disappointment that the Democratic candidate for Senate wouldn’t endorse the five so-called non-negotiables signed by a group of rabbis and clergy that were meant to bring Jewish voters into his coalition.

He cited as one reason El-Sayed’s decision to campaign with the infamous antisemite Hasan Piker a decision he said “speaks loud and clear as I believe you judge people by the company they keep.”

“I am deeply offended by El-Sayed intentionally fanning the flames of antisemitism for political gain and backing off when it is politically expedient to do so,” he wrote, referring to the candidate’s attempts to distance himself from Piker once he secured his party’s nomination.

Deitch also pointed to El-Sayed’s belated apology for saying “hurt people hurt people” about the terrorist who committed the car -ramming attack against Temple Israel, arguing that it was a non-apology, since El-Sayed only apologized for the timing and not for the actual sentiments he expressed.

“There can never be a justification for an attempted mass murder of young children,” Deitch declared.

The Jewish Michigan Democrat said that the use of the term “genocide” was also disqualifying, noting that while he can accept harsh criticism of the policies of the Israeli government, using the term genocide goes far beyond that, putting “U.S. Jews in danger, as the clear implication is that we are apologists for genocide, since the vast majority of American Jews (of all political persuasions) are proud Zionists.”

Deitch said that after examining Rogers’ record, he felt comfortable casting a vote for him.

“He is a good, decent and honorable American with whom I have various policy disagreements,” he said. “I believe this is the time to choose a good, decent and honorable man without a hint of the vile stench of antisemitism. Policy disagreements can be resolved by people of goodwill. Fundamental character concerns can not.”

After El-Sayed’s primary victory, many Jewish Democrats banded together to support Mike Rogers, citing similar concerns.