Michigan’s McMorrow faces tough questions on AIPAC, new Gaza stance during U.S. Senate forum

Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who is a candidate for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat, recently called the Israeli war in Gaza a genocide on the Palestinian people – a move that sparked a series of tough questions for her campaign on Wednesday evening during a forum focused on Arab and Muslim voters.

The event, hosted by Emgage Michigan, featured McMorrow and progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed. U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), who is considered the Democratic establishment’s favorite in the race, did not attend the forum due to a scheduling conflict, her campaign said.

Stevens’ absence allowed McMorrow and El-Sayed a platform to answer questions posed by Emgage moderators, which for the most part focused on free speech and were questions fielded to both candidates so voters could compare their answers.

El-Sayed, McMorrow highlight free speech policy at U.S. Senate forum focused on Muslim community

But the moderators took McMorrow to task with a series of individualized questions aimed at just her, almost exclusively related to her shifted stance on the genocide occuring in Gaza and reports that she filled out a position paper for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobby in the United States.

Democratic candidates across the board, in Michigan and abroad, are getting hammered with questions about whether they would accept money or logistical support from AIPAC, which has funded candidates to the tune of millions of dollars. Several of those candidates who have received money from the committee have been friendly toward Israel, have voted in favor of sending defensive and offensive weapons to Israel in its war in Gaza, and have refused to call Israel’s actions a genocide.

Stevens has reportedly accepted a sum total of $5.17 million from the organization, according to AIPACTracker, which tallies money spent on candidates through the PAC.

In Michigan,  Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist was among the few gubernatorial candidates willing to plainly call the Gaza situation a genocide, and he did so recently at a national Arab American convention held in Dearborn.

El-Sayed was early in his support for Palestine, has called the situation a genocide since the launch of his U.S. Senate bid and has said publicly that he would not accept money from AIPAC.

McMorrow’s stance became clearer earlier this month. On a brewery tour stop, McMorrow was pressed with a question on Gaza and accepting money from AIPAC.

The state senator from Royal Oak said that she would not be accepting money from AIPAC, not now or in the future, nor was she seeking its endorsement.

She also called the war and the strife there a “moral abomination.” When asked if she would call it a genocide, McMorrow, after a deep breath and long pause, said it was by definition a genocide.

That news of McMorrow’s opinion on Gaza was blunted, so to speak, by an article published by Dropsite News, a Substack blog covering national politics and foreign affairs. The blog reported in September that McMorrow had privately produced an AIPAC position paper that at least one pro-Israel donor said was “outstanding.” Those details came from a donor call obtained by Drop Site news, which was also published online.

McMorrow clarifies stance on Gaza, joins Michigan Democrats calling situation a genocide

On Wednesday, Emgage moderators at the event asked about McMorrow’s response to the Gaza question during her brewery tour. The senator was asked if she was willing to go beyond rhetoric and support blocking weapons sales to Israel if elected to the U.S. Senate. She was also asked if she would impose sanctions on Israel, and if her response to the question was genuine, as opposed to well-timed due to the changing view on Gaza.

McMorrow said she appreciated the question, and that the north star on her moral compass was rooted in believing that no life was worth more than any other.

“I am somebody who is married to a Jewish man who feels deeply about what is happening in the Middle East and also still faces scars from having family members who were killed in the Holocaust,” McMorrow said. “I understand how much pain there is. And after Oct. 7, 2023 as the war raged on, it got worse. I don’t know how anybody could look at photos and videos of what we saw coming out of Gaza and not be absolutely heartbroken at the starvation, at the suffering, and realizing this was not just about retaliation, it got so much worse.”

McMorrow said her position was that the United States should use “every tool at its disposal, especially in this moment now, where there is a very tentative cease fire, to ensure that this is a permanent cease fire, it’s not another fleeting one, and that Palestinians can have long term peace and security.”

In the Dropsite News article, McMorrow said she wanted to be clear that what she’s said in public is the same rhetoric that she espouses behind closed doors.

“You can view my position on my website. You can view it in public statements. I do anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen public events every single week, and we have hard conversations in the room on my statewide brewery tour,” McMorrow said. “I am proud to say that no question is off limits, and we talk about this frequently, but we have to acknowledge that in our state, we have Arab American communities, Muslim American communities and Jewish American communities. Some members of our community are involved with AIPAC. I believe in meeting with everybody.”

McMorrow also said she did not intend to seek AIPAC‘s support or endorsement, not even from the very beginning.

“But I believe in meeting with everybody, because we have been able to have these difficult conversations and bring together what is a shared goal of a permanent cease fire of the violence, ending of the killing,” she said. “Is that going to be everybody’s position? No, but what I say in private is exactly what I say in public.”