JTA — A rabbi at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, has publicly chastised a candidate for US Senate in her state who grew up near the temple, for what she said was an “offensive” response to the March 12 terror attack on her synagogue.

Rabbi Jen Lader criticized Abdul El-Sayed, a physician and former county health executive, for “suggesting that violence against a synagogue in suburban Detroit could be understood through the lens of Israeli actions.”

Lader’s op-ed, published Friday in The Free Press, marked an instance of a rabbi publicly opposing a specific political candidate — a once-rare occurrence that has become more normalized.

It came days after El-Sayed, who is taking the left flank in a close three-way primary for an open seat, held two rallies with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, whom some Jewish leaders have accused of antisemitism for comments on Jews as well as his views on Israel.

Lader’s commentary didn’t mention Piker or the recent rallies. Instead, the rabbi parsed two statements El-Sayed had made following the Temple Israel attack last month: an initial statement condemning antisemitism, which she commended, and lengthy follow-up remarks that also discussed Israel’s war in Lebanon, where relatives of the attacker, including at least one brother........

© The Times of Israel