A Jewish entrepreneur faces death threats after the effort to oust Omar

EXCLUSIVE – When the pro-Israel PAC leader chose not to financially support Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) primary challenger Don Samuels, a wealthy entrepreneur stepped in to mobilize Jewish voters against the anti-Israel “Team” member of Minnesota.

Michael Sinensky, co-founder of Israel Friends, a charity that has raised more than $26 million for Israel since the October 7 massacre by Hamas, told Washington Examiner he faces death threats and accusations of Nazi affiliation following a report about his last-minute fundraising efforts for Omar’s opposition.

A handful of messages from a WhatsApp group chat were leaked in a report on Sunday from the Intercept which details efforts by Sinensky and others to infuse money into the race. The Washington Examiner obtained every message in the group chat dating back to October 23, 2023.

‘Weaponize our terror’: setting the record straight on Sinensky

The publication wrote that Sinensky, who has donated to several Democratic campaigns, “justified his support for the far right” in messages framing the 2024 election landscape as a battle between parties whose fringe groups include “Christian neo-Nazis of the right” in the GOP and “socialists, Marxists, anarchists who support radical Islam” among the Democratic ranks, where right-wing radicals are currently the lesser of two evils for American Jews.

The messages were from July 12, weeks after the June 25 New York Democratic primary, when the group chat was called “Jews for Richie Torres.” The WhatsApp group underwent three name changes and involved several different groups of people over the course of nine months. It was titled “Zionists for Don Samuels vs. Ilhan Omar” during the Minnesota primary campaign, and the group’s name has changed again since then.

Omar blasted the group for what she described as “discussing their preference for ‘right-wing Christian neo-Nazis'” in a Sunday press release responding to the report.

“The media often sensationalize or mischaracterize bits of conversation to support the story they want to tell, and this case was no exception,” Sinensky said in a statement to Washington Examiner. “The publication took screenshots from a private chat without giving the fullness and honesty of the larger discussion.”

In his statement and in an interview with Washington Examinerhe emphasized that he was not claiming that the majority or all of either party were the extremists he mentioned, nor was he endorsing any group of listed extremists, but that he was referring to fringe groups in both parties. He believes that left-wing extremists who align themselves with “radical Islam” pose a more imminent threat to American Jews than do right-wing extremists.

Sinensky said his statement to Interceptdespite being “requested” and offered on the Jewish Sabbath, it was “largely ignored” in their coverage. As a result, he chose to “clarify and contextualize what I said” in his statement to the address Washington Examiner in addition to sharing his entire original statement.

He explained: “The bottom line is that no Jew wants to support people who hate us. Unfortunately, we currently live in a nation – and a world – where anti-Semitism has exploded from all sides of the political spectrum.”

“The dire position we find ourselves in as Jews is to identify the less imminent threat and hedge our own survival, however unpleasant it may be in the short term,” he added. “How grave and dire the situation is.”

The Jewish entrepreneur said Omar and his anti-Israel colleagues “actively contributed to the firestorm that generated” the rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes after October 7. He cited two recent examples of anti-Jewish stabbings in New York, as well as an incident captured on video in which his wife was chased into his building by a man shouting, “Die, Jews, die!”

“Instead of having empathy for American Jews, whom the country has put in the position of choosing the party whose fringe is the lesser enemy, or revealing their own role in creating such a terrible spirit,” Sinensky said, ” This publication has chosen to turn into weapons. our terror to further vilify us, only further fanning the flames of anti-Semitism and hatred in general.”

“While I am disappointed, I am not surprised, and in fact this further illustrates the need for American Jews to organize and act in our own political interests. Our very survival depends on it,” he added.

AIPAC largely absent from mayor ‘most obnoxious’ team member

Tuesday’s 14-point victory for Omar was far from the bigger blowout some had expected after Lake Research Partners, a polling firm associated with her campaign, had the incumbent up 27 points ahead of the election.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has stepped up spending in other efforts to oust fellow “Team” members like Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), but as of August 7, AIPAC has spent just $19,000 advertising dollars for Omar’s race. This came as a surprise to members of the “Zionists for Don Samuels vs. Ilhan Omar” WhatsApp chat group.

On July 24, a member asked, “Is AIPAC helping Don Samuels?”

One activist responded: “Not now, which is why this grassroots effort is so important. Thank you all for your support!”

Through a campaign staffer, Samuels addressed the group on the issue. He assured that AIPAC was “absolutely aware of this race, (and) engaged with us on a regular basis.”

On July 25, one member speculated that AIPAC may have hesitated because of “this myth that Ilhan is unbeatable” as well as the “real possibility that AIPAC’s public engagement will backfire.”

She explained that there is “a lot of latent anti-Semitism” in Minneapolis, which she noted was once known as the most anti-Semitic city in the United States. “AIPAC” is a dog whistle, a stand-in for “Jews and their $$ control of the world”. Ilhan knows this and is arming him.”

With AIPAC focused on other races, Sinensky and company stepped in to help defeat Omar, whom Samuels called a “pawn for Hamas” because of his anti-Israel statements and positions.

“Don only lost by less than 2,500 votes or 2% in 2022,” Sinensky told the group on July 28. “We don’t need millions from AIPAC. We can win this with $100,000 in donations from all of us.”

He continued: “We cannot sit idly by while the leader of the team — the most hated — is vulnerable without a last-ditch effort to fire her from American politics.”

On August 8, Sinensky responded to another member who asked if AIPAC would support Samuels: “I’m not, I don’t think they can help defeat her. They believe it will affect the grassroots effort that is stronger in this district, as the last race demonstrated.”

He added, “We’ve raised more together than what AIPAC put in last race.”

AIPAC contributed $350,000 to Omar’s 2022 opposition through the United Democracy Project. However, according to Jewish Insider, AIPAC felt that “Don (Samuel) had reached his capacity” after losing the 2022 primary to the anti-Israel Democrat.

While AIPAC largely watched Omar’s 2024 race from the sidelines, Sinensky and his group worked tirelessly to get thousands of Republicans to switch parties to vote for Samuels, in addition to raising hundreds of thousands for the effort to remove Omar.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“In deposing Omar,” Sinensky said they had “a unicorn opportunity” in Samuels, whom he described as “a candidate who stands for the values ​​that I (and most Americans) stand for, who also represents a place in democracy. Party where Jews are not excluded from social justice.”

“I will not apologize for exercising my democratic right to support him,” he said.

Read Sinensky’s full statement to Washington Examiner:

The media often sensationalize or mischaracterize snippets of conversation to support the story they want to tell, and this case was no exception. The outlet took screenshots from a private chat without giving the full and honest scope of the larger discussion. A statement I provided to the publication prior to publication was largely ignored, despite the fact that it was requested on the Jewish Sabbath and promptly delivered. I take this opportunity to clarify and contextualize what I said: The bottom line is that no Jew wants to support people who hate us. Unfortunately, we currently live in a nation – and a world – where anti-Semitism has exploded from all sides of the political spectrum. The dire position we find ourselves in as Jews is to identify the less imminent threat and hedge our own survival, however disgusting it may be, in the short term. That is how serious and dire the situation is.

This is our reality living as Jews today. Shortly after the horrors of October 7, my wife was followed into our building by a man shouting, “Die, Jews, die.” Just last weekend, two visibly Jewish men, in separate incidents, were stabbed – one by a man shouting: “Free Palestine.” I, and many fellow Jews, believe wholeheartedly that the rhetoric perpetuated by Ilhan Omar and “The Team” actively contributed to the firestorm that spawned these dangerous hate crimes. I believe that this growing brand of Jew-hatred is an imminent threat to the Jewish people. Of course I find the Nazis abhorrent – ​​almost my entire family was exterminated in the Holocaust – but there is no side at either end of the current political spectrum that is truly safe for Jews. We’ve been forced to side with whoever is less insecure at this point. And that’s not “The Team.”

Even in the published screenshot, I gave the example of Ukraine, where our humanitarian contributions supported resistance to the Russian invasion, despite having to accept the cooperation of the Azov Brigade (and their long-standing neo-Nazi ties) because their resistance is actively protecting Ukrainian Jews right now.

Instead of empathizing with American Jews, whom the country has put in the position of choosing the party whose fringe is the lesser enemy, or revealing its own role in creating such a horrendous zeitgeist, this publication has chosen to arm us terror to denigrate us further. , only further fanning the flames of anti-Semitism and hatred in general. While I am disappointed, I am not surprised, and in fact this further illustrates the need for American Jews to organize and act in our own political interests. Our very survival depends on it.

For American Jews who disagree with my assessment, that is entirely their (and no one else’s) prerogative, and I encourage them to support the candidates they believe best ensure our safety, which is exactly what they are doing.

In dethroning Omar, we have a unicorn of an opportunity: a candidate who espouses the values ​​I (and most Americans) espouse, who also represents a place in the Democratic Party where Jews are not excluded from social justice. That unicorn is Don Samuels and I will make no apologies for exercising my democratic right to support him.

Gd Bless America & Am Yisroel Chai.