Actor Mandy Patinkin Urges Jewish Voters to Back Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan Senate Race for Their Own 'Safety'

Actor Mandy Patinkin has posted several videos on social media, including one on Friday, urging Jewish voters to support Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed if they are concerned about their 'safety' in the country.

In one video Patinkin said, 'Jewish safety depends on a real multiracial democracy, and Abdul is the one fighting to protect it.' The 'Homeland' and 'The Princess Bride' actor is also Jewish.

Patinkin said that El-Sayed's Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, was pushing a political movement attacking the 'rights and dignity of certain people', and argued that El-Sayed was the only candidate fighting for democracy. He said, 'Jewish safety is tied to the health of our democracy. We can't protect one without protecting the other.'

In another video posted on Sunday, Patinkin called out efforts to make people 'afraid' of the Democratic candidate because of his name and Muslim background, suggesting the criticism was similar to how Jewish people have been treated because of their identity. He said, 'It's hard for me to hear Muslims and Arabs talked about this way without thinking about our own Jewish history.'

He added, 'Who is going to protect the democracy that has helped keep Jews safe in America? Abdul. Who is going to stand up for the rights of all of us? Abdul.' He urged voters to vote for El-Sayed and send him to the Senate seat. Both the El-Sayed and Rogers campaigns were reached for comment but did not immediately receive a response in the material.

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values, criticized Patinkin's 'lack of actual knowledge' about whether El-Sayed would support Jewish safety, and made a series of criticisms of the candidate's past statements and campaign associations.

El-Sayed caused controversy in March when he responded to an attack on a Michigan synagogue by saying 'Hurt people, hurt people.' Federal investigators say a gunman inspired and radicalized by Hezbollah crashed into the place of worship seeking to kill as many Jewish people as he could. The alleged attacker was a Lebanese-born man who a week earlier had lost relatives in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. El-Sayed later apologized for his comments about the attack.

Patinkin previously supported New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's 2025 campaign, celebrating the first night of Hanukkah with the democratic socialist after he was elected.