Pro-Israel donors fuel Onwenu in contentious Detroit-area state Senate primary

Michigan pro-Israel donors have mobilized to support Justin Onwenu against a Yemeni-American opponent in the Democratic state senate primary race for a district covering parts of Detroit and Downriver.  

The donors, largely from Michigan, account for at least $117,000, or 33%, of the $353,000 in Onwenu’s reported fundraising haul, state campaign finance records show. The donations come from a range of powerful and sometimes controversial pro-Israel donors, including donors to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, Jewish Federation contributors, Republicans, a University of Michigan regent, a PAC that also supports Michigan GOP legislative leadership, a bank executive, and members of establishment Democrats’ campaigns. 

This level of spending is unusual in a state race, but not unprecedented. Many of the same donors also backed Democratic attorney general candidate Karen McDonald in her failed bid for the nomination earlier this year. The finding comes just after reports that Onwenu is backed by PACs that include DTE Energy and billionaire Matthew Moroun’s companies.

Onwenu is running against former Democratic State Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) in what has become among the most bitter fights of the cycle. Aiyash said he has likely drawn the attention of pro-Israel donors because he is an outspoken critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, which Amnesty International and a United Nations independent commission have described as a genocide, as well as ongoing military operations in southern Lebanon in which more than 4,300 people have been killed. 

In a statement to Michigan Advance, Onwenu said, “The suggestion that there is something nefarious at play or conflation of support from Michigan’s vibrant Jewish community for my vision with support for the Netanyahu government is harmful, offensive, and divisive.” 

He said he has support of “Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and a range of faith communities that have a diverse set of views.”

 Aiyash, however, pointed to an interview in which Onwenu was asked if he took donations from any “AIPAC or AIPAC-aligned” donors. 

“I’m happy to say no,” Onwenu said. State records show he had received donations by then. 

“My opponent lied,” Aiyash told the Advance. “Gaza is a litmus test not because of the connection to the Middle East, but because it is a question about whether you have the moral clarity and courage to stand up to moneyed interests.

“He was willing to lie about this and now that is exposed his knee jerk reaction is to say that it is antisemitic or problematic.” 

The 1st Senate District is located in Wayne County and includes part of Detroit, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, River Rouge and Wyandotte. It is considered a strong Democratic seat, though Lincoln Park and Wyandotte were split between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

Onwenu is a former 2020 Bernie Sanders delegate who left Michigan to attend Columbia Law School and returned to Detroit last year largely aligned with establishment politicians. FEC records show in 2019 he donated to progressive figures such as U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit). By 2025, he had donated to several AIPAC-backed officeholders, including McDonald and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), who is seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, as well as state Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Township), who is running for Congress.

The Michigan Advance analysis only includes donors who have made donations to, or are part of, explicitly pro-Israel organizations. It does not include donors who are merely part of a communal Jewish organization, or who are Jewish and have no connections to pro-Israel groups.

Onwenu received nearly $5,000 from Detroit Pistons executive and AIPAC donor Arn Tellem and his wife, and a $500 contribution from former AIPAC president David Victor, who still sits on its national board.  

David Handleman, a former AIPAC Michigan president who once organized a Detroit pro-Israel event with the 2002 Iraq War architect and diplomat John Bolton as the featured speaker, also gave $1,000 to Onwenu.

Teller and Torgow did not respond to a request for comment. This story will be updated if a response is received.

Another nearly $5,000 came from U-M Regent Mark Bernstein and his wife, Rachel Bendit. Bernstein, who sits on the Executive Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, helped lead the university’s controversial legal response to pro-Palestinian students’ protests. He also received donations from AIPAC-backed U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit).

Aiyash pointed to Onwenu refusing to state during a debate that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza as evidence that the pro-Israel donations had influenced his positions.

Onwenu received $20,000 from Jewish Agency PAC, which also gave to Republican leader Matt Hall, who would oppose most of Democrats’ agenda in the next legislative session. 

Onwenu raised over $20,000 through a fundraiser at the residence of Joshua Opperer, a member of AIPAC’s National New Leaders Network who has donated $10,000 to AIPAC, and published a Substack article titled, “Fireworks in Rafah,” that includes a picture of Israeli soldiers celebrating Israel’s independence day by lighting off fireworks in Rafah, a city in Gaza. 

It appears Onwenu took steps to fundraise from these donors, as records show he paid pro-Israel Jewish National Fund staffer, Molly Goldberg, $2,000. 

Onwenu received $14,000 from Huntington Bank executive and Jewish Federation of North America executive director Gary Torgow and his family. While the Jewish Federation offers programs that combat antisemitism and promote Jewish culture, it has also been criticized for producing programs for schools and universities that critics say have a pro-Israel bias.

The Jewish Federation and one of its arms, the Jewish Community Relations Coalition, have also actively supported legal efforts opposing protests against Israel, including voicing support of Michigan Attorney General Nessel’s failed cases against pro-Palestinian protestors at the University of Michigan. 

Onwenu said his campaign “has been consistent about lowering utility and healthcare costs, standing up to corporate polluters, delivering for workers, and protecting our rights in the face of Trump and we’re proud to earn support from a range of people who agree with that vision.”

Aiyash said the pro-Israel donations show Onwenu cannot be trusted to take on corporations. 

“This is the cancer of our politics and if you allow your donors to control what you say now that is not going to change further down the line,” Aiyash said.