Michigan Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel skipped her party’s convention Saturday after saying she feared being booed, harassed and chased over her support for Israel — amid warnings of tense clashes over the Middle East.
“I don’t feel safe going,” Nessel, who is Jewish, warned late last month.
“I feel like my presence is not going to be welcomed. 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. And I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it’s been happening to me.”
Nessel cited a rise in antisemitism on the left and growth of far-right elements in advance of the party gathering.
Her decision came as Michigan Democrats took extraordinary security precautions for the convention following a rowdy April gathering and growing tensions over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
A slate of party leaders signed a letter this week warning delegates against “disruptive behavior,” while a party email sent Aug. 26 threatened “zero tolerance and immediate ejection” for anyone violating its code of conduct.
Among the signers was US Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who campaigned in part by slamming Israel.
The party also beefed up security, including law enforcement officers, entrance screening and security personnel throughout the venue, the Detroit News reported.
“Our Democratic ticket stands united on this — the rules will be enforced, without exception,” party leaders said.
A trio of Democrats including Nessel called for an audit of results from the rowdy April convention, where delegates used a mobile phone app to vote on nominees.
Some conventioneers loudly booed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), who was in a tight primary battle with El-Sayed and who was backed by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY).
Saturday’s convention itself is mostly a formality, as Nessel is barred from seeking another term because of term limits. But the gathering was expected to expose the party’s deep divisions over Israel.
Earlier this month, following Nessel’s announcement, Michigan rabbis and Jewish leaders urged the party to “ensure the safety” of Jewish delegates.
“We believe you need to make it clear, publicly, that anyone who chases, screams at, or otherwise harasses Jews at your convention will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” they wrote, the Jerusalem Post reported.
They added: “If Jews, including the highest-ranking Jewish state official in Michigan, are intimidated into staying away from your convention, it will not stop there.”
El-Sayed, who is Muslim, addressed the issue after winning his primary election: “My commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters.”
The battleground state, where El-Sayed holds a narrow lead over former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) in the RealClearPolitics polling average, is home to about 100,000 Jews.
Following the March attack on Temple Israel by a Hezbollah-linked terrorist in West Bloomfield, Mich., near where he grew up, El-Sayed released a statement in solidarity with Michigan’s Jewish community.
“There is never a justification for attacking innocent people,” the epidemiologist said at the time, while also drawing criticism for adding, “hurt people hurt people.”
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