Holiday traditions are once again becoming a political flashpoint.
Eman Abdelhadi, the sister of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, has drawn fresh attention for past comments criticizing major American holidays, as her brother faces scrutiny over his own remarks about the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and football.
Abdelhadi, an assistant professor of comparative human development at the University of Chicago, saw several of her old social media posts resurface after El-Sayed’s recent primary win in Michigan.
In one post from July 2016, Abdelhadi took aim at Independence Day, writing on Twitter — now known as X — that she did not view the holiday as something to celebrate.
Other resurfaced posts show the professor questioning whether “settler colonial propaganda” was being introduced at her niece’s school, before expressing relief that the lesson’s main Thanksgiving takeaway appeared to be “turkeys.”
Abdelhadi revisited the subject again in November 2024, saying Thanksgiving “would be a lovely holiday” if it were not “attached to genocide,” noting that its appeal lies in people gathering to express gratitude and share a meal without the pressure of gift-giving or major spending beyond food.
“We can’t have nice things under settler colonialism. May all the empires fall,” she declared in the same post.
“Abdul loves his sister and also disagrees with her on a number of political positions and the rhetoric she’s chosen to use, including on foreign policy,” said El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Sophie Pollock.
“But Abdul is the one on the ballot and his record of public service and his platform is what matters to voters here in Michigan. His campaign has always been about his love for America and Michigan.”
Abdelhadi, a pro-Palestinian and anti-ICE activist, was also arrested last year for protesting outside an immigration detention facility near Chicago and allegedly had spit on an Illinois state trooper, Fox News reported.
“There’s no center left,” she later said of her actions on the podcast “Movement Memos.”
“You’re either resisting or you’re complicit,” she added when faced with two felony counts of aggravated battery and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing.
El-Sayed had posted on Thanksgiving Day in November 2019: “This country was built on the systematic annihilation of Indigenous Peoples, whose ancestors [sic] suffer some of the highest rates of homelessness, joblessness, and mortality today.”
“We owe so much more than ‘thanks,’” added El-Sayed in the since-deleted post, first reported by The Washington Free Beacon. “Time for Reparations.”
On his YouTube channel, the ex-gubernatorial candidate and future Senate hopeful posted on a July 10, 2024, clip that Americans should consider “alternative ways of celebrating” Independence Day “that might be just as fun and are definitely less destructive.”
“Fireworks can trigger PTSD in veterans,” the video cautioned.
In other past comments, El-Sayed had suggested that “the sordid history of oppressing other people in the name of this American idea” is “echoed in the ethos of football.”
His campaign has pushed back in a statement to CNN, which first reported on the remarks, saying: “Abdul is the former captain of his high school football team, loves Michigan football on Saturdays, and celebrates the Fourth of July with fireworks like the next Michigander.”
“Cherry-picked comments from old podcasts don’t reflect his beliefs today,” the rep said.
In several posts following El-Sayed’s primary win, Abdelhadi has celebrated her brother’s political ascent.
“[y]a’ll don’t seem to know that our goal is to actually change policy for our people, to save lives both here and abroad,” she wrote on X, responding to pro-Palestinian critics of her brother from the left.
“The goal isn’t taking a pure position for its own sake, and thereby forsake the possibility of actual material change,” she added. “Be serious.”
El-Sayed and his sister have both referred to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a “genocide,” with Abdelhadi claiming that Notre Dame canceled her from speaking at a conference last year over her views.
Reps for Abdelhadi did not respond to a request for comment.
