What Would Ady Do?

In 2018, my friend Ady Barkan — the bravest person I’ve ever known — was traveling across the U.S. Despite his rapidly advancing ALS, he was fighting so fiercely for healthcare for every American.

On that trip, he introduced me to Abdul El-Sayed, who was running for governor of Michigan. He told me that Abdul would fight for Medicare for All just as fiercely as he would. Now, Ady was a prankster, and sometimes he tricked me, it’s true — but never about something like this.

So this week, almost three years since Ady’s death, I’ve been thinking about him as I joined Seed the Vote, If Not Now Movement, Bend the Arc, Andy Levin, Jews for Democracy, and others in Michigan to encourage people to vote for Abdul for Senate.

Like me, Ady was a proud American Jew. His dad’s Israeli. He was a strong advocate for Palestinian human rights, fought hard against antisemitism, and he believed in shared safety — for Israelis & Palestinians, for Jews & Muslims and everyone else here and there.

In a training with canvassers in Detroit, at a packed house party in Ann Arbor, in quiet, candid conversations with old & new friends in West Bloomfield, I talked to Jewish Michiganders about their questions and struggles. It’s no secret that there are concerns about some of Abdul’s positions and statements.

Abdul is working hard to listen and build bridges with people in the Jewish community, while speaking honestly & maintaining moral clarity. To his credit, he apologized for his words right after the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield.

I like the way he’s been talking about the need for Israelis and Palestinians to reach a political agreement that establishes human rights, freedom, and dignity for all of them. We don’t agree on every element, but I’m sure about this: Abdul is someone who genuinely cares about the inherent dignity of all people, who will fight fiercely for that core belief, and who will work hard to make sure everyone — Jews most certainly included, regardless of whether they agree with him — is safe to worship and live freely, without fear.

And let’s be clear: that’s not true of Mike Rogers, or of J.D. Vance, into whose hand Rogers’ election could put the Senate gavel. They represent a Far Right, white nationalist vision that is bad for Jews, Muslims, and American democracy.

Some people told me that while they still have questions about Abdul, they’re voting for him out of clarity for how much worse it would be if Rogers wins. Some of these folks feel good about the idea of (Muslim) U.S. Senator Abdul El-Sayed and (Jewish) U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin representing the great state of Michigan together. I really agree.

And while foreign policy matters, and I deeply understand the concerns and questions we talked a lot about, I want to start and end with this: the work that Abdul will do in the Senate, and I will do in the House, will center on putting money in the pockets of working people, getting money out of politics, holding Trump and his cronies accountable for their crime and corruption, restoring trust in our ailing democracy, and — of course — delivering health care to everyone, through Medicare for All.

So, if like me, you sometimes ask yourself “What Would Ady Do?” the answer right now is very clear. There are just three weeks to canvas, phone-bank, text-bank, call your friends in Michigan, and contribute to elect Abdul El-Sayed to the United States Senate.

Sign up here for Seed the Vote’s Jews for Abdul canvassing.