Clergy from Temple Israel told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Vice President JD Vance met with representatives of the synagogue in Michigan to offer support after a March terrorist attack on the community. ^[1] Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic US Senate candidate in Michigan, accused Republican vice-president JD Vance of using 'evil' rhetoric to attack his character and policies. ^[2] Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic US Senate candidate, apologized at the state Democratic Party's Jewish caucus on August 30, 2026, for his earlier comments about the Temple Israel attack, saying 'I made a mistake.' ^[3] More than 400 Jews in Michigan, including prominent community leaders, signed a petition titled 'Michigan Jews Against Extremism' pledging to vote for Republican Mike Rogers in the US Senate race over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. ^[4] Rabbi Jen Lader of Temple Israel said the meeting with Vance was held at his request and that she asked for support against antisemitism and additional security funding through the Jewish American Security Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in the US House. ^[5] Abdul El-Sayed stated that 'Evil is ripping healthcare away from working people in exchange for tax breaks for billionaires' and 'Evil is making people pay more for groceries and gas'. ^[6] JD Vance described Abdul El-Sayed as representative of 'terrible evil' and someone who fights for 'one group at the expense of others' during a speech in Sterling Heights, Michigan. ^[7] Vance warned that people who say 'my ethnic group deserves something and yours doesn't' erode the foundations of common citizenship needed for the United States to be a powerful nation. ^[8]