Yard signs and billboards push Black-Jewish alliance message in Michigan
A DC-based nonprofit is running a paid media campaign in Detroit-area cities to encourage Black Christian voters to support Israel ahead of the Senate election.
By Harper Collins ·
The Center for Urban Renewal and Education, a nonprofit based in Washington, DC, has paid for yard signs in Detroit, Flint, and Ypsilanti that read "Blacks and Jews Standing Together." The group also purchased billboards in the region with messages such as "Self Defense is Not Genocide" and "Many Black Evangelicals Agree that Israel Has a Right to Exist." These materials do not name specific candidates but aim to influence the upcoming US Senate race.
Star Parker, the director of the nonprofit, stated in an email to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the organization's goal is to remind Black Christian voters of unique reasons to stand with Israel. The campaign launched in the final week of the election cycle, following an October 22 interfaith roundtable in Detroit where a local rabbi and Black pastors discussed the history of Black-Jewish organizing.
The messaging targets a contentious race where Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed has struggled to maintain support among both Jewish and Black voters. El-Sayed has faced criticism for his rhetoric regarding Israel and Jewish safety, which has alienated some Jewish constituents. He also encountered resistance in the primary, where many Black Detroiters initially supported US Rep. Haley Stevens. A recent poll commissioned by the Detroit News indicates that 87% of likely Black voters now support El-Sayed.
Republican candidate Mike Rogers has also targeted Black voters, with a super PAC running ads that claim El-Sayed has been disrespectful and dishonest with that demographic. Those ads highlight tensions between local Black and Arab communities. Sam Robinson, a Detroit-based reporter for a historic Black newspaper, noted that some voters hold a scarcity mindset regarding resources, believing Arabs are taking Black people's share.
Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom in Farmington Hills participated in the October 22 event. He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that politics was not the intended focus of the roundtable. Bergman wrote that the event was mostly about teaching about antisemitism, adding that at this point in history, that is political.
El-Sayed has focused his campaign's final days on shoring up the Black vote, visiting Black churches and holding events with former President Barack Obama and US Rep. Jim Clyburn. Driving turnout in Black communities is viewed as key to his chances of winning the seat. Stevens' last-minute decision to endorse Rogers is a variable in the race. Parker said she believed many Black Christian voters would follow Stevens' lead, stating that the endorsement had taken Rogers over the finish line with Black voters.
Indicators suggest Palestinian rights may be a more animating issue among Michigan's Black voters this year. State Rep. Donavan McKinney, a democratic socialist, won his primary challenge against a pro-Israel incumbent in a majority-Black district in August. Additionally, a Black community organizer confronted Stevens over her support for Israel during a primary campaign stop in Detroit.
