JTA — A pro-Israel Jewish member of the University of Michigan’s governing board is on his way out after Democratic leaders in the state instead backed a pro-Palestinian attorney with a history of antisemitic and pro-Hezbollah rhetoric for the spot.

Jordan Acker will not run for reelection on the Board of Regents in November, when Michigan voters have the task of choosing members of the board. Instead, the state Democratic Party candidate will be Amir Makled, who received the party’s backing, even after losing an endorsement following revelations of his social media activity.

Makled is allied with progressive Michigan US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has prompted controversy in the primary race with his criticism of Israel. In a pre-taped CNN interview that aired Sunday, just before Makled was selected, El-Sayed called the Israeli government as “evil” as Hamas and said, “Killing tens of thousands of people makes you pretty damn evil.”

Just before the convention, Makled, an attorney, had deleted posts that included retweets of far-right antisemitic conspiracy theorist Candace Owens; memes and cartoons with antisemitic connotations; and references to former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a “martyr” after he was killed by Israeli strikes in 2024.

After the press resurfaced the posts, the Michigan branch of the Service Employees International Union rescinded its support for him, citing “new information that was not available at the time our endorsement was made.”

Acker, meanwhile, faced reports days before the convention that, as regent, he had sent sexually explicit Slack messages in 2020 and 2021 about Michigan students and a Democratic Party strategist. Those messages included a reference to a student’s parent as a “joo,” slang for Jew. His attorney questioned the authenticity of the messages to The Guardian, which first reported them.

ENDORSEMENT: I am proud to announce the support of Michigan Laborers District Council! #UnionStrong pic.twitter.com/s15CUCphCs — Jordan Acker (@JordanAckerMI) April 16, 2026

ENDORSEMENT: I am proud to announce the support of Michigan Laborers District Council! #UnionStrong pic.twitter.com/s15CUCphCs

— Jordan Acker........

© The Times of Israel