Democratic University of Michigan Regent Loses Endorsement for Re-Election as Party Faces Jewish-Muslim Reckoning

Michigan Democrats are backing a Dearborn attorney who praised leaders of Hezbollah and Iran’s Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp for the University of Michigan Board of Regents after ousting a Jewish incumbent whose home and business were vandalized with antisemitic graffiti over his support of Israel.Congratulations resounded from state party representatives after Amir Makled earned the party’s endorsement Sunday over Jordan Acker to compete in the fall general election. Mr. Acker, whose term expires on January 1, faced hostility as a regent for defending Israel and Jewish students on the university’s campuses from pro-Palestinian protesters following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The protesters had been demanding the university divest from Israel, though a regents report later found that its investments were minimal, with just one-third of one percent of the university’s endowment going into Israeli-related companies.Nonetheless, Mr. Acker’s home and office were targeted in 2024. Vandals spray-painted his office and his wife’s car with Hamas-related symbols and threw jars of urine at his house.Incumbent regent Paul Brown, who served with Mr. Acker, reportedly told the party’s Jewish Caucus before the vote that Acker had been targeted for defeat by the party because he is Jewish. Mr. Brown called it the “elephant in the room,” according to the Detroit News.“Let this be a wake-up call for self-respecting Jewish Democrats, especially those from my home state of Michigan, and any other Democrats who would prefer their party not descend into the depths of full-blown Islamoleftism: you are losing your fight,” posted the head of external affairs for the Manhattan Institute, Jesse Arm.The nonprofit, Stop Antisemitism, reported that Mr. Makled had been quietly deleting a history of social media posts in which he called Jews “demons” who “lie, cheat, murder and blackmail,” praised now deceased Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah as a “martyr,” and shared content from ISIS-tied handles and the late IRGC leader Qasem Soleimani. He has since deleted his X account, though the organization was able to retrieve his posts from the internet tracking site, Wayback Machine.Though the party did not reveal the total votes for the candidates, Mr. Makled, who successfully represented some of the pro-Palestinian protesters charged in the campus demonstrations, was selected as the party’s choice despite losing the support of the Service Employees International Union over the newly uncovered posts.However, Mr. Makled appears to have picked up support after Mr. Acker, who had been endorsed by the state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, was accused of lewd comments about a Democratic strategist on a public communications platform, Slack, years ago. Mr. Acker’s attorney, Ethan Holtz, said the alleged comments are bogus though the Guardian newspaper reported days ago that it spoke with several people who were on the thread and saw the statements.Mr. Makled will join Mr. Brown in the November election for a seat on the university’s governing body. They face off against two Republican candidates, Lena Epstein and Michael Schostak in the Nov. 3 general election.

Democratic University of Michigan Regent Loses Endorsement for Re-Election as Party Faces Jewish-Muslim Reckoning

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