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Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost last month in the Michigan Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, called out Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in an interview over his Middle East policy, describing the progressive senator as part of an anti-Zionist “sickness.”
“I really don’t know what Bernie Sanders has done for peace in the Middle East, for Palestinian dignity; I can’t think of anything he’s totally done. It’s a sickness that needs to end. You know, it’s a linkage towards extremism or jihad, I don’t know,” she said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post.
Sanders has repeatedly called to end U.S. military aid to Israel and has been outspoken in his criticism of the Israeli government.
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“I believe that anti-Zionism is a hate movement that has taken over in America and throughout parts of the West,” Stevens said in the interview.
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., speaks to supporters on primary election night Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Detroit. (Paul Sancya/AP Photo)
Sanders’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Stevens described Israel as a “punching bag” for some of the challenges the U.S. is facing.
“I think that Israel is more than just a punching bag for some of the challenges that America is facing,” she said. “There is this bizarre obsession that has reached pitch level with calling out one country, one tiny country in the Middle East.”
She was critical, however, of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he has been a “problem.”
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Stevens endorsed El-Sayed shortly after she lost the primary. However, she urged the Democratic Senate candidate to cut ties with far-left streamer Hasan Piker, with whom El-Sayed has campaigned.
“It certainly makes sense to get rid of this Hasan Piker affiliation,” she said during an interview with Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing” in August, also asserting that the Democratic plans for healthcare, democracy and Black-owned businesses are better than those of El-Sayed’s Republican opponent Mike Rogers.
Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to members of the media ahead of the Michigan Democratic Party’s 2026 nominating convention in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Asked whether El-Sayed had said or done anything other than winning the Democratic nomination to earn the support and assuage the concerns of groups that voted for Stevens, such as Jewish voters, Black voters or Reagan-era Democrats, Stevens pointed to her own good performance with those demographics, identifying herself as a Zionist Democrat and asserting that her party had room for all those communities.
“I came really close [to winning the primary] and I’m still a Democrat. I’m still out here talking about my views and values. I want the people who share my views and values to feel safe and to feel heard in the Democratic Party,” she continued.
Qasim Rashid, a SiriusXM radio host and human rights lawyer, told Fox News Digital in a statement that Stevens’ comments are “profoundly disappointing and not helpful.”
“It is a well-established fact that the Israeli government has targeted and killed civilians. Leading human rights organizations and scholars, including Israeli scholars have documented it as genocide,” Rashid said. “Our own Leahy laws in the United States require that we stop funding governments when there is credible evidence of mass human rights atrocities. By continuing to insist on arming Israel as it is violating international human rights law, Haley Stevens is on the wrong side of history. And, she’s also jeopardizing losing the state of Michigan to MAGA Republicans. This is not being thoughtful or logical. It certainly is not following the call of international human rights law and constitutional law that she took a sworn oath to uphold.”
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Americans’ opinions on Israel have soured, according to a poll from March, largely due to Democrats and independents.
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. (Sophie Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Finn Gomez/Getty Image)
The results of the survey, by NBC News, come amid sharp political debates among Democrats over support for Israel two and a half years after the start of the war between Israelis and Hamas in Gaza.
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Just 32% of Americans view Israel positively, with 39% seeing the Jewish state in a negative light, according to the poll, which was conducted Feb. 27-March 2. That’s a sea change from three years ago, when Americans held a positive view of Israel by a 47%-34% margin.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
