Democratic Senators Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Jacky Rosen of Nevada have sharply criticized prominent livestreamer Hasan Piker following his comments suggesting that Jewish Americans could face inevitable repercussions due to their support for Israel.
Last week, Piker addressed his audience, stating, "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."
Senator Slotkin, who is widely considered a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential election, publicly shared her "response to Hasan Piker's recent comments on Jews in America being targeted because of their views on Israel."
This shouldn’t be hard: no community should face the threat [of] violence for their political views. Period. That goes if you’re pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-choice, pro-life or any other cause you care about. And blaming the victims of violence for bringing it on themselves only further endangers people.
She further indicated that these remarks contribute to a broader trend of normalizing political violence.
Slotkin concluded her statement by emphasizing, "In a time where political violence and anti-semitism has been spiking — and where just 6 months ago Michigan had a nearly deadly event of anti-semitic mass violence at Temple Israel — no one should causally be suggesting that anyone, Jews or otherwise, are to blame for being targeted."
Senator Rosen Also Condemns Remarks
Senator Rosen echoed Slotkin's sentiments, describing Piker's statements as reaching "a new low."
Hasan Piker has been trafficking in antisemitic tropes for a while but even this is a new low. Blaming Jewish Americans for the violence and hate they’re facing is not just wrong, it provides an excuse to those perpetuating these anti-Jewish hate crimes. Let me be absolutely clear: crimes against Jews for being Jews is antisemitism plain and simple. There’s no excuse for it.
A number of prominent political figures from both major parties, including fellow Democrats, have directly spoken out against Piker, contending that his statements appear to place blame on the Jewish community for attacks they experience.
While Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed had previously dismissed Piker's contentious remarks, he appeared to distance himself from the left-wing streamer after this most recent controversy.
Piker's History of Controversial Statements
Piker has a long record of making controversial comments, including asserting that "America deserved 9/11" and commending a Zohran Mamdani administration official's stated desire to "'impoverish the White middle-class.'"
