ElSayed apologizes to Jewish Democrats for synagogue attack statement

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul ElSayed apologized on Saturday for comments he made in March following a violent attack on a synagogue near Detroit, telling Jewish Democrats that his attempt to provide context for the incident was a mistake. The apology came as the progressive candidate seeks to repair relations with skeptical Jewish voters ahead of a high-profile November election that could influence control of the U.S. Senate. ElSayed addressed the controversy while speaking before the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus at the state party's convention in Lansing. He expressed regret for his initial response to the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, where a gunman rammed a vehicle into the building and exchanged gunfire with security officers in what the FBI described as a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community. The assailant, Ayman Ghazali, was killed at the scene. In a video statement released shortly after the attack, ElSayed condemned the violence but also stated that "hurt people hurt people" and that "violence is a cycle.