Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed walked away from a reporter on Thursday after being questioned about his failure to issue a statement commemorating the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel.

The encounter comes amid ongoing controversy over El-Sayed's criticism of Israel and his positions on the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict.

El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, a pro-Israel Democrat, in the party's August primary. His positions on Israel have repeatedly drawn scrutiny, particularly his accusations against the Israeli government over its military campaign in Gaza.

During a recent interview with MS NOW, El-Sayed characterized Israel's military operations as "bloodthirsty" and accused Israeli leaders of committing genocide.

Speaking separately with journalist Jim Acosta, he acknowledged that Hamas had committed war crimes but continued to level accusations against the Israeli government.

The Democratic candidate has also opposed providing unconditional US military assistance to Israel and has repeatedly avoided directly answering whether Israel has a right to exist.

In an interview before the election, he described Israel's leadership as "as evil as Hamas."

El-Sayed previously faced criticism over his response to a March attack on Temple Israel, a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, near Detroit.

According to authorities, Ayman Ghazali, a naturalized American citizen originally from Lebanon, drove a vehicle carrying explosives into the synagogue, sparking a fire. Ghazali died at the scene.

Reports indicated that members of Ghazali's family had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon approximately one week before the synagogue attack.

Although El-Sayed condemned the attack and antisemitism, he also remarked that “violence is a cycle" and that “hurt people hurt people."

Critics argued that his comments could be understood as offering a justification for the attack.

In late August, El-Sayed apologized to the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus for those remarks.