Nonnegotiable Michigan

We are liberal American Jews who believe Jewish safety, identity, statehood, inclusion and desire for peace are NONNEGOTIABLE.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

BREAKING: Michigan Jews just launched a petition campaign to fight for our place in the party that has been our political home for generations.

Read more in the NYT about this effort to ensure Jewish safety, self-definition, statehood, and full political participation in American democracy.
https://t.co/O7SKpc8kwB

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Rabbi Josh Whinston of Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor is one of the leaders behind Nonnegotiable Michigan.

He says he and many other Jewish voters remain undecided and ready to be won over by Dr. El-Sayed if he affirms our nonnegotiable needs.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

University of Michigan sophomore Jacob Reich is one of many Jewish Michiganders who are still undecided in the Senate race.

He wants to support the Democratic candidate, but he and many of his classmates need clear answers from Dr. El-Sayed on the issues that matter deeply to them as Jewish voters.

Jacob is inviting Dr. El-Sayed to directly engage with his concerns and affirm his nonnegotiable needs to earn his vote.

[College Dems of America Jewish Caucus @CDAJewishCaucus]

The Jewish Caucus of CDA and @GUCollegeDems strongly condemn the decision of Georgetown College Republicans to host MP Marc Bernhard, a member of Germany’s far-right AfD party whose rhetoric, ideology, and political culture are rooted in antisemitism and Holocaust revisionism.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Election Day is just 18 days away! Here are three ways to make an impact and help us amplify our nonnegotiable needs:

1️⃣ Follow us at @NonnegotiableMI.

2️⃣ Sign the petition at https://t.co/1Q8qlJ6e5g. It takes under a minute.

3️⃣ Share this post, then text the link to a few friends and ask them to sign too.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

For over a month now, we’ve been reaching out to Dr. El-Sayed publicly about our nonnegotiable needs as Jewish voters.

Rabbi Aaron Starr speaks for many of us when he says that so far, our concerns haven’t been addressed, and that has left many Jewish Michiganders hesitant about their vote.

That’s hard to say. Many of us are wondering whether the Democratic Party is still our home. We hope it is. But when our most basic needs haven’t been affirmed, many in our community are facing a difficult decision this November.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Jews were the target of 63% of all religion-based hate crimes in 2025.

We need Dr. El-Sayed and all leaders to condemn this hate — without qualification.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Sign up to volunteer today: https://t.co/mi5nxINolH

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Election Day is less than three weeks away.

We need volunteers to reach Jewish Michiganders before November 3rd through texts, phone calls, and conversations with your own community about Nonnegotiable.

Every conversation builds our collective voice and brings in more signatures!

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Jewish Americans have long been one of the most reliable blocks in the Democratic coalition. But we are scared. Violence and vitriol against us is constant, and our loved ones in Israel are constantly to vilified.

We want our political home back. It is not too late for Democratic Party leaders to take action to earn our support. Affirmation of our five nonnegotiables present a meaningful path forward.

Nonnegotiable is not an ultimatum but an invitation to engage with our basic needs. We really hope for a shift that makes us feel safe and valued in the Party and the movements we have always, proudly, helped build.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Join Robert and sign the petition: https://t.co/MQlm1a9OLh

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

University of Michigan freshman Robert Kashan joined Nonnegotiable to urge candidates to stand up for the safety of Michigan’s Jewish community.

To earn his vote, he needs Dr. El-Sayed and other Democrats to unequivocally speak out in support of Jewish safety.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Our University of Michigan student leaders were just featured in The Jerusalem Post!

Disappointed by their choices in Michigan’s Senate race, they’re organizing their peers around our five nonnegotiables to build a Democratic Party they can belong to and be proud of.
https://t.co/ttMYFWAbyM

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

This is the first national election Jacob Reich can vote in.

As a campus fellow with the Jewish Democratic Council of America, he’s organizing to help Democrats win back the Senate by winning races in other states.

Here in Michigan, though, he has serious concerns about Dr. El-Sayed’s positions on Jewish safety and Jewish self-determination.

That’s why he’s also organizing with Nonnegotiable to urge Dr. El-Sayed to affirm what Jacob needs from him to earn his vote.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

There are real, substantive concerns and challenges in the Michigan Senate election, and we are proud of our work organizing to make clear our Jewish communal needs.

But none of that is served by the anti-Muslim bigotry spreading through the debate. Attacks on Dr. El-Sayed’s faith or identity, smears that treat Muslim Americans as suspect, and dehumanizing rhetoric toward Michigan's Muslim and Arab communities are unacceptable and must be forcefully condemned.

Jewish people have long been treated with suspicion when we organize or lead, politically or in other realms. This is precisely why Nonnegotiable #4 asks for affirmation of our right to full political participation without accusations that we are corrupt or sinister for organizing around our needs. It is because of our own lived experience that we know and viscerally understand these dangers.

Jewish safety and Muslim safety are bound up together. Hatred that targets one community does not stop there, and a Michigan where Muslims are made to feel like outsiders is not a safer Michigan for Jews.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Nonnegotiable is organized around the five baseline needs of Jewish Democrats.

Leaders who want our votes must demonstrate that they understand and respect our nonnegotiable needs.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Shoutout to the students at the University of Michigan who’ve been out on campus collecting signatures for Nonnegotiable!

On a campus where Jewish students have faced harassment, threats, and pressure to hide who they are, these students are meeting the moment.

These are young Jewish Democrats who were excited to cast their first votes for U.S. Senate this November. Instead, they’re facing an election where, as of now, there’s no candidate they can vote for. So they’re demanding better from our party’s leaders.

We are so proud of them. Keep up the great work!

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Join us: https://t.co/MQlm1a9gVJ

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

Shoutout to the students at the University of Michigan who’ve been out on campus collecting signatures for Nonnegotiable!

On a campus where Jewish students have faced harassment, threats, and pressure to hide who they are, these students are meeting the moment.

These are young Jewish Democrats who were excited to cast their first votes for U.S. Senate this November. Instead, they’re facing an election where, as of now, there’s no candidate they can vote for. So they’re demanding better from our party’s leaders.

We are so proud of them. Keep up the great work!

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

“I can’t vote for a candidate who won’t affirm my most basic core needs and values.”

Nonnegotiable leader Rabbi Aaron Starr spoke to @CNN about how Dr. El-Sayed’s failure to unequivocally affirm Jewish safety is impacting his vote this November.

[Nonnegotiable Michigan @NonnegotiableMI]

We appreciate this strong statement from Jocelyn Benson.

Dr. El-Sayed had the opportunity to join her and other Democratic leaders across Michigan in standing with the Jewish community on this dark day.

We regret that he didn't even issue a statement.

[Jocelyn Benson @JocelynBenson]

Today, I’m holding the Jewish community in my heart as we remember those who lost their lives in the October 7th attacks.

In the three years since the attack, we stand unified in ensuring that antisemitism and all forms of hate have no place in Michigan — not now, not ever.