It’s always a pleasure to join THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali. Today, Waj and I largely focused on US domestic politics — in particular, how Israel-Palestine is impacting the Democratic Party and the Jewish American community. With State Senator Mallory McMorrow dropping out of the pivotal US Senate race in Michigan, Waj and I spoke about the choice between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens.
Progressive champion Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s endorsements include Senators Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna,* as well as United Auto Workers. Meanwhile, Rep. Haley Stevens has the backing of Senator Chuck Schumer and AIPAC, whose support helped her to defeat progressive Jewish Rep. Andy Levin in 2022.
If you’re interested in diving into recent polling on the race, Zenith Research found last month that in head-to-head matchups, El-Sayed narrowly leads presumptive Republican nominee Mike Rogers 45% to 42%, while Stevens is in a dead heat with Rogers at 43% to 42%, respectively.
The Israel-Palestine issue is playing a significant role in the race, so it’s worth noting that continuing US military aid to Israel at current levels polls poorly among Michigan voters: 33% support vs. 54% opposition. David Sirota of The Lever just interviewed El-Sayed and it’s worth listening to what he had to say about Israel-Palestine, AIPAC, and protecting Jews against antisemitism. Meanwhile, here is an AIPAC video of Stevens and a clip of Mallory McMorrow criticizing Stevens for risking Michigan’s Senate seat by raising money through AIPAC.
As always, I’m interested in your comments on this podcast! Looking forward to hearing your reactions.
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Coming Up!
Mark your calendars! Scheduling for additional podcasts is (always) in progress.
TOMORROW (Tues, July 7) at 11am Eastern
I’m thrilled to speak with Ami Fields-Meyer about his just-published and extremely timely book On Courage: How to Be a Dissident in an Age of Fear. If you’re an MS NOW fan, you may have seen Rachel Maddow raving about the book this week, so much so that she’s going to record the audio version. Ami and his co-author Julia Angwin draw lessons from individual dissidents and opposition organizations around the world — including some from Israel-Palestine that have been featured on The Debrief! Be sure to join us.
Thursday, July 16, at 12:30pm Eastern
For quite some time, I’ve been wanting to do a podcast on the future of the US rabbinate. The Atra Center for Rabbinic Innovation released a study in late 2025 that included some findings that surprised me — and made me want to learn more. Among them were the demographics of current rabbinical students, only 30% of whom identify as men, while 58% identify as women and 12% as nonbinary. Further, 51% identify as LGBTQ, a huge jump from 15% among rabbis ordained 10-20 years ago. Last but not least, 16% of rabbinical students converted to Judaism and 12% identify as a race other than white.
To discuss that and what implications it might have, as well as the hot topic of where the next generation of American rabbis stands on Israel-Palestine, I’m delighted to welcome Rabbi Amelia Wolf of Congregation Etz Hayim in Arlington, Virginia and Rabbi Andy Kahn of the American Council for Judaism to The Debrief.
* In Case You Missed It…
Last week’s conversation with Congressman Ro Khanna is a truly must-watch!
That’s all for now, folks! Hope to see many of you tomorrow morning for the conversation with Ami Fields-Mayer.
Warm regards,
Debra
