Abdul El-Sayed and the Banana Libel

Read the original at The Free Press ↗
Cite

Lake, E. (2026, October 28). Abdul El-Sayed and the Banana Libel. The Free Press. https://www.thefp.com/p/abdul-el-sayed-and-the-banana-libel

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Free Press · collected 2026-10-28 · by Eli Lake

Quick Summary

Rebellion PAC, supporting Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race, released an ad claiming U.S. military aid to Israel contributes to higher food costs. The ad suggests this aid diverts money needed for basic needs like groceries and healthcare. Critics argue that the claim is false, pointing out that U.S. aid makes up less than half a percent of the federal budget and mostly benefits the American economy as it requires Israeli purchases from U.S. weapons systems; additionally, the U.S. does not fund Israel’s health insurance system. The article condemns the ad for reviving antisemitic tropes.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 28, 2026, an ad released by Rebellion PAC supporting Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has sparked controversy and accusations of antisemitism. The ad features a couple in a grocery store discussing how U.S. aid to Israel is the reason they cannot afford basic staples like eggs and bananas. One character says, "We have to set that money aside for killing Palestinians," referring to $161 per person supposedly spent on bombing Gaza. This narrative has drawn criticism from various quarters, with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) calling it a scapegoating tactic. Tech futurist Jamie Metzl and others have condemned El-Sayed unless he distances himself from the ad. Critics argue that the ad is innumerate and morally obtuse, as U.S. aid to Israel makes up only about half a percent of the federal budget and primarily circulates back into the American economy due to requirements for purchasing U.S. military equipment.

Written for “Banana Libel Controversy Abdk El-Sayed” on 2026-10-29, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 110992 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-29

Story

📰 Banana Libel Controversy Abdk El-Sayed
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Pro-Abdul El-Sayed ad sparks fury with claim Israel to blame for high grocery prices: ‘Case study in antisemitism’ Same event
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 0 of 25 claims Outlet record 66/100
Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan Different event
NPR
Hedges 3 of 47 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different events - one about Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric against El-Sayed and another about a political action committee ad supporting El-Sayed.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
96/100
The Free Press's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Free Press · 386 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Eli Lake
5 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Rebellion PAC released a web ad that featured a couple at the grocery store discussing how they could not afford bananas and eggs because “we have to set that money aside for killing Palestinians.”
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Abdul El-Sayed and the Banana Libel
🔮 Jonathan Swift himself could not conjure a greater irony than bestowing a peace prize on Pillay.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · And the Nobel Prize for Antisemitism Goes to. . .
🔮 Ever since Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral election nearly a year ago, many New Yorkers have chosen to give him a chance.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Mamdani’s October 7 Smear
🔮 It’s hard to imagine that any serious person could answer yes.
2026-09-18 · mixed framing · The Moral Illiteracy of Hasan Piker
Also by Eli Lake
And the Nobel Prize for Antisemitism Goes to. . .
2026-10-09 · The Free Press
Mamdani’s October 7 Smear
2026-10-08 · The Free Press
We’re Still Drowning in Myths About the Gaza War
2026-10-07 · The Free Press
The Moral Illiteracy of Hasan Piker
2026-09-18 · The Free Press
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Democratic Israel Michigan Senate U.S.

Subjects

Israel GPE · 5× U.S. GPE · 5× Abdul El-Sayed PERSON · 1× American NORP · 1× Democratic NORP · 1× Gaza GPE · 1× Michigan GPE · 1× Palestinians NORP · 1× Rebellion PAC ORG · 1× Senate ORG · 1×

Narrative

Claiming that aid to Israel is responsible for high grocery prices is a grotesque lie that resurrects an ancient and sinister trope that blames international Jewry for economic misery.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 Rebellion PAC released a web ad that featured a couple at the grocery store discussing how they could not afford bananas and eggs because “we have to set that money aside for killing Palestinians.”
2026-10-29 · The Free Press
Abdul El-Sayed and the Banana Libel · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 1 hedged)

Over the weekend, an independent left-wing political action committee entered the Michigan Senate race on behalf of Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed. asserted
committee → enter → Sayed
Rebellion PAC released a web ad that featured a couple at the grocery store discussing how they could not afford bananas and eggs because “we have to set that money aside for killing Palestinians.” uncertain
we → release → Palestinians
Later in the ad, after the wife explains that it costs $161 per person to drop bombs on Gaza, the husband asks “Don’t they get universal healthcare too?” asserted
they → explain → healthcare
She replies: “Yeah, they do. asserted
they → reply → ?
We’re paying for that too, probably.” asserted
We → pay → that
U.S. aid to Israel is why you can’t feed your family. asserted
you → feed → family
Antisemitism is said to be the socialism of fools. asserted
Antisemitism → say → fools
Well, it turns out that it’s also the populism of the innumerate. asserted
it → turn → innumerate
U.S. military aid to Israel comprises at most a half a percentage point of the U.S. federal government budget. asserted
aid → comprise → budget
The overwhelming majority of that money is poured back into the American economy because Israel is required to spend the aid on U.S. weapons systems. asserted
Israel → pour → systems
Also—not that it needs stating—the U.S. does not pay for Israel’s health insurance system. asserted
U.S. → need → system
Claiming that aid to Israel is responsible for high grocery prices is a grotesque lie that resurrects an ancient and sinister trope that blames international Jewry for economic misery. asserted
that → claim → misery
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