The half-sister of Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is facing fresh scrutiny after a video labeled an “October 7th blessing” resurfaced online.
Eman Abdelhadi opened the anniversary message by saying, “I want to say Allahu Akbar,” then translated the phrase as “God is greater.”
The phrase itself is a common expression of Muslim faith. The controversy is the context: the timing, the anti-colonial framing that followed and the absence of any mention of the Israeli civilians murdered or kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The resurfaced clip shows Abdelhadi delivering the message in her own words:
Eman Abdelhadi, hermana del candidato demócrata de Michigan al Senado de Estados Unidos, Abdul El-Sayed, festejó la masacre del 7 de Octubre.
Video de celebración del 7 de octubre de la hermana de Abdul El Sayed, Eman Abdelhadi: "Quiero empezar diciendo Allahu Akbar." pic.twitter.com/O6IlHTBd9S
— Dani Lerer (@danilerer) August 15, 2026
Abdelhadi went on to describe the phrase as a reminder that there is something greater than “brutality” and “oppression.” She spoke of refusing narratives enforced by “colonial powers” and urged viewers to become stronger, more willing to fight for justice and more aligned with those she called oppressed.
She ended by saying there was work ahead and that people had to build a better future together. The 51-second message closed with a promise to see viewers “on the streets.”
What the video did not include was also striking.
There was no reference to the approximately 1,200 people killed when Hamas terrorists stormed communities and a music festival in southern Israel. There was no mention of the 251 people taken hostage.
Trending Politics News reported that Abdelhadi’s past social-media record is receiving renewed attention now that her half-brother has secured the Democratic nomination in one of the country’s most consequential Senate races. The outlet noted that she challenged Sen. Bernie Sanders after he condemned the Hamas attack and later said her initial reaction had been based on early images of barriers and checkpoints being breached before the scale of the killings was known.
It also documented Abdelhadi’s public support for her brother’s political ambitions, including an April 2025 post praising his campaign agenda and calling herself a proud younger sister.
The report placed the anniversary message alongside Abdelhadi’s broader record of Palestinian activism, sharp criticism of Israel and far-left organizing. Her explanation may address what she believed during the confused first hours of October 7, 2023.
It cannot resolve the questions raised by a message recorded one year later, when the murders, kidnappings and other atrocities had been exhaustively documented.
The University of Chicago identifies Abdelhadi as a faculty member whose work examines how religion, gender and sexuality shape political attitudes, social networks and economic outcomes. Her university profile lists affiliations with sociology, Middle Eastern studies, gender and sexuality studies, and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture.
The school says her research has included Muslim Americans’ health outcomes, the effects of discrimination and the way people’s social connections influence their views.
The profile also describes Abdelhadi as an organizer who has been involved in movements for racial justice, Palestinian liberation and police accountability. She teaches and publishes at the intersection of scholarship and activism, making her public political statements more than a private relative’s stray social-media opinions.
Her political vision reaches far beyond the Israel-Hamas war.
A separate post circulating this week records Abdelhadi describing a future without the United States as a nation-state, conventional money or the present economy:
"So Eman Abdelhadi, who is Abdul El-Sayed’s sister… wants to abolish the United States as a nation, do away with the economy and eradicate money completely"@M_Schaub @Gurdur @HeikoHeinisch @MollersPaul @ReskiLab https://t.co/Su9YgLtTF4
— Dystopian Expectations (@dystopianexp) August 15, 2026
The Washington Free Beacon reported in July that Abdelhadi is El-Sayed’s maternal half-sister and has advocated what she called a “stateless, communized society.” Its report detailed her calls to abolish police, her organizing with far-left groups and her October 2025 arrest after authorities accused her of spitting on an Illinois state trooper during an anti-ICE protest. The outlet also examined her published fiction, which imagines a post-capitalist New York built after the collapse of existing institutions.
The criminal allegations remain subject to the legal process, and an arrest is not a conviction. The political record needs no courtroom verdict.
Abdelhadi has repeatedly articulated her preferred social order in speeches, books, organizing work and public posts, giving voters a substantial record by which to understand the activist now appearing beside El-Sayed’s name.
A fresh report highlighted another example from Abdelhadi’s published work:
Eman Abdelhadi, Abdul El-Sayed’s sister.
‘Abdelhadi recently contributed to the book “Homosexual Intifada,” which features her poem “Parallel Lives.” In it, she writes, “I am the mother f***ing revolution. Sip a $25 martini. It’s a caviar revolution.”’
Read @mich_enjoyer to…
— Jake Altman (@TradeUnionJake) August 15, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed is the candidate, and he is responsible for his own statements, alliances and policy positions. A relative’s words do not automatically become his.
Abdelhadi has also chosen a public political role. She has promoted her brother’s campaign, praised his agenda and described herself as a proud younger sister.
That makes questions about the overlap—or lack of overlap—between their political worldviews entirely fair in a United States Senate campaign.
The Associated Press reported that El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens for the Democratic nomination after building a campaign around voter anger with the party establishment. When the race was called, his margin was just under one percentage point across more than 1.5 million ballots.
The victory marked a major breakthrough for the party’s progressive wing in a battleground state.
El-Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman backed by President Trump, in November. The open seat is central to both parties’ plans for Senate control, and the general election will force El-Sayed to appeal far beyond the progressive voters who carried him through the primary.
That makes his own views, his alliances and the political movement surrounding his campaign matters of national consequence.
Michigan voters do not need guilt by association. They do deserve straight answers.
When a close family member who publicly supports a Senate candidate delivers an “October 7th blessing” without acknowledging the people slaughtered and kidnapped that day, asking the candidate whether he shares that framing is not bigotry.
It is basic political accountability.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
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