Hasan Piker’s Uncle Behind Michigan Senate Ad Blaming Israel for Egg Prices Called ‘Case Study in Antisemitism’

Hasan Piker’s uncle, Cenk Uygur, is behind a Michigan Senate campaign ad that links high grocery prices in the United States to Israel and criticizes Republican candidate Mike Rogers for alleged dual loyalties. The ad, produced by Rebellion PAC in collaboration with Uygur’s media company The Young Turks, features a couple in a grocery store connecting the cost of eggs and bananas to Israel and the war on Iran. A woman in the ad says, “We have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians,” while the ad closes with images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders, accompanied by the message, “Mike Rogers is for they/them, Abdul El-Sayed is for you.”

The ad also claims Israel has a universal health care system, stating, “We’re paying for that, too, probably.” However, this assertion lacks factual basis. Israel’s health care system is funded through a combination of progressive health insurance taxes and general government revenues, not a universal system as described. Uygur, who is featured on Rebellion PAC’s website, outlines “The 6 policies of the Populist Plank” in a video, and his firm, Rad Ads, produced the ad. He promoted the spot on social media, writing, “we have to suffer here at home, so Israel can get all its wars,” and solicited donations for Rebellion PAC to run the ad more widely in Michigan.

Campaign filings show Rebellion PAC paid $3,000 to The Young Turks on October 19 for “social media advertising.” The ad has drawn sharp criticism from Jewish leaders. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called it “desperate” and “a case study in antisemitism.” Former President Barack Obama’s ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, tweeted that it’s “entirely possible to oppose aid to Israel … without promoting the fiction that such aid, or Israel itself, is responsible for what Americans pay for their groceries.”

Rebellion PAC’s cofounder, Brianna Wu, distanced herself from the ad, calling it “awful” and stating she would have quit as executive director rather than produce it. El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, also condemned the ad, joining other critics in highlighting its misleading portrayal of Israel’s role in U.S. grocery prices. The ad has sparked broader discussions about the accuracy of political messaging and the potential for such content to contribute to antisemitic narratives.

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