Topline
Some Democrats condemned left-wing streamer Hasan Piker this week for his controversial comments, in which he suggested a narrative that Jewish people are “singularly invested in Israel” is “very dangerous” for Jewish people.
Hasan Piker at Web Summit Qatar 2026 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar. (Photo By Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile for Web Summit Qatar via Getty Images)
Sportsfile via Getty Images
Key Facts
Piker said in an Aug. 20 Twitch livestream, “the idea that Jews are monolithic. . . is a very dangerous mode of propaganda,” claiming, “people don’t f— with Israel any longer, and if Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.”
Piker made the statement while displaying an X post from the account “AIPAC Tracker,” which tracks donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, featuring Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, who is Jewish.
The AIPAC Tracker post suggested Moss hasn’t endorsed Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, because he’s backed by pro-Israel groups (El-Sayed opposes U.S. military support for Israel and has criticized his opponents for accepting AIPAC donations).
Piker then criticized Moss for telling Slate that El-Sayed is “going to have to demonstrate some serious outreach to Oakland County’s Jewish community” if he wants to win the Senate race, accusing Moss of proliferating a “media narrative” that “presents Jews as singularly minded and singularly invested in the continuation of the Israeli apartheid.”
El-Sayed, who campaigned with Piker ahead of his primary, issued a statement on Monday, in the wake of intense blowback over Piker’s comments, that said, “antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk,” adding, “I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”
He told Semafor on Wednesday he has “no plans” to campaign with Piker again.
What have other Democrats said about Piker’s comments?
Moss said he will “not be lectured by a California podcaster about what Oakland County, Michigan’s Jewish community should and shouldn’t believe,” adding, “we certainly won’t be gaslit that we’re responsible for the antisemitic harm upon us.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement, “the malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic.” When asked by CNN later that day if his comments referred to Piker, Jeffries said they did, calling the remarks “dangerous, malicious and antisemitic and should not be tolerated by anyone in the public square.” Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who is Jewish, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution when asked about Piker’s remarks, that he “unreservedly rejects reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that policy advocacy invites violence against the Jewish community or any community,” adding, “American Jews and all Americans must have the freedom and security to speak out and petition their government without fear of reprisal.” Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said Wednesday while campaigning for El-Sayed, “I am done. So don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker. It’s not what November is about. I don’t agree with Hasan Piker on a lot of stuff.” Dingell also told CNN, “I think it’s incumbent upon Abdul to make it very clear to people that he doesn’t agree with things that Hasan Piker says. I pray that we’re not gonna see him in Michigan from now until the election.” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., wrote on X, “Hasan Piker’s dangerous and hateful language targeting Jewish Americans has no place in our civic discourse. Suggesting that Jewish Americans bear responsibility for hatred or violence directed against them is wrong, dangerous, and antisemitic.” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said, “This shouldn’t be hard: no community should face the threat of violence for their political views. Period . . . no one should casually be suggesting that anyone, Jews or otherwise, are to blame for being targeted.” Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., who is Jewish, accused Piker of “trying to encourage and justify violence against American Jews. And he’s saying that if violence does occur, it’s the fault of those in the Jewish community who publicly support Israel. We faced tougher threats than hose of Mr. Piker, who’s literally a piker. We will not be silenced.”
How has Piker responded to the backlash?
Piker told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an email, “I see antisemitism as unjustly rising as Israel’s popularity rightfully plummets due to its genocide,” he wrote, referencing a similar statement made by Jewish New York Times columnist Ezra Klein in an April column about Piker. Piker told the JTA, “calling all criticisms of Israel antisemitic only feeds into this dangerous false notion that Judaism and Zionism are inseparable and that all Jews are singularly invested in Israel.” Addressing El-Sayed’s response to his comments, Piker said, “I don’t think Abdul should cave to the Republican attack ads and framing, but if this allows him to stay on message then, he’s going to do what he must.” Commenting on Ossoff’s response in an X post Thursday, PIker wrote, “i think jon ossoff’s best strengths came from his lack of interest in attacking his left flank & focusing on trump’s corruption & scandals instead. i said he was a dark horse because he’s been smart enough to back restrictions on weapons transfers to israel at times regardless of his incredibly conservative voting track record otherwise.” He continued, “the last 48 hr media frenzy is exactly why people don’t trust institutions from corporate media to our bought & sold political class. most of these orgs, and plenty in the media will operate like lapdogs for aipac with no care or consideration for nuance, the truth or how the majority feels about anything.”
Who is Hasan Piker?
Piker is a full-time Twitch streamer with more than 50,000 subscribers and a strong following among young men. He has faced criticism over his incendiary rhetoric, including a multitude of controversial critical statements about Israel, including saying Israel is worse than Hamas and that America deserved 9/11, the latter of which he said he regrets and should have explained better. Piker, as Klein pointed out in his April column, has also condemned antisemitism and tries to make a distinction between antisemitism and anti-Zionism. He has campaigned with multiple progressive candidates who have won their primaries, including El-Sayed, Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York, Melat Kiros in Colorado and Donavan McKinney in Michigan. Prior to Piker’s latest controversy, he was a prominent target for conservatives who have sought to link him to progressive primary candidates, while some moderate Democrats have also called on the party to distance themselves from him.
further reading
How Left-Wing Twitch Streamer Hasan Piker Has Divided Democrats (Forbes)
Establishment Democrats Line Up Behind Progressive El-Sayed After Tight Race Divided Party (Forbes)
Progressive El-Sayed Wins Michigan’s Democratic Senate Primary—Results Much Closer Than Expected (Forbes)
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