LANSING, MI - Michigan Democrats gather Saturday in the battleground state's capital city to hold their 2026 state nominating convention amid controversy over recent antisemitic harassment and open hostility within the party over U.S.support for Israel.Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, recently announced she wouldn't attend the confab due to security concerns, after anti-Israel party activists shouted down pro-Israel speakers, including Rep.
Haley Stevens, at a prior convention in April.This weekend's convention comes as a growing number of Democrats push for cutting military aid to Israel, amidst the Israeli government's ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.The convention is also being held just a few weeks after Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel who describes their military actions as "genocide," narrowly edged Stevens to win the Democratic Senate nomination for a crucial seat the Democrats must hold in the midterm elections.DEMOCRATIC MICHIGAN AG ACCUSES HER PARTY OF 'ABSOLUTELY NOT' DOING ENOUGH TO COUNTER ANTISEMITISMUS Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan Abdul El-Sayed speaks with reporters during a Student Meet and Greet at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on August 26, 2026.(JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images)"I don’t feel safe going.
I feel like my presence isn’t going to be welcome.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," Nessel said during a roundtable discussion last month."I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it’s been happening to me."Responding, the Michigan Democratic Party said it is "committed to ensuring party-hosted events are safe and secure environments for all attendees.""We reject antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hateful conduct.
We are working diligently with stakeholders, elected offi...