A supporter at Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s New York fundraiser bragged that punching a pro-Israel protester felt “cathartic”, and the next best thing to hitting an Israeli.
Jacob Berger, an anti-Israel Jewish actor and activist, attended the Monday night New York City fundraiser for El-Sayed and then fought a pro-Israel demonstrator outside the event.
Jewish Insider reported that video posted by both men shows they mutually agreed to the fight and agreed not to call police. Berger later posted clips of the clash with the caption “had to rock a zionist face” and a smiling emoji.
In an audio recording obtained by the outlet, Berger described the fight to a fellow attendee in blunt terms. The exchange captures more than a street scuffle. It captures the rage some activists now treat as a badge of honor around Democratic campaigns.
Berger did not frame the brawl as self-defense or a regrettable loss of temper. He framed it as relief.
He told the fellow attendee:
“It’s cathartic because I want to beat the s*** out of these guys every single day. He cheers on genocide, he cheers on babies being blown up.”
He went further:
“F*** you, I was literally putting all my rage into my fists there.... I can’t punch an Israeli right now, but that’s the next best thing.”
Those lines sit on the record. Berger cast a pro-Israel demonstrator as a stand-in for Israelis he said he cannot reach. He posted the fight footage himself. When Jewish Insider asked whether the audio was authentic, Berger sent a vulgar reply dismissing the question.
Berger held no formal role with the El-Sayed campaign. He was not a host or organizer of the fundraiser. The two men agreed not to report the fight to police, and the reporting states no arrests or charges tied to the clash.
Campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner issued a short statement after the story surfaced.
“Abdul believes everyone has a right to express their opinion without fear of violence.”
The statement condemns violence in general terms. It does not address Berger’s recorded language, the social-media caption, or his claim that a pro-Israel protester was a substitute target for an Israeli.
Berger is a Jewish American actor and viral content creator who has built a profile as an anti-Israel activist. He took part in the 2025 Gaza flotilla, was detained by Israel in that context, and has claimed he is banned from the country. He has lived in Egypt in recent years and was photographed in Cairo in January 2025.
His recent output matches the tone of the fundraiser remarks. He posted videos mocking the FlyDubai hijacking. In another video during the U.N. General Assembly period, he suggested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials should go “back to Poland where they belong.” Other anti-Israel activists have accused him of misconduct.
None of that made him a campaign official. It did make him the kind of guest whose words now sit next to a Senate candidate’s New York fundraising stop.
El-Sayed is running as a Michigan Democrat for the U.S. Senate. His campaign has been working to win over Jewish voters who remain skeptical of him. A recent letter of support from Michigan Jews, noted in the same reporting, included a series of fringe figures holding extremist views.
That is the backdrop for Monday night in New York. A high-profile progressive candidate courts wary Jewish support while an attendee at his fundraiser records himself celebrating a fight with a pro-Israel demonstrator and calling it the next best thing to punching an Israeli.
Democratic campaigns have spent years insisting they can separate harsh anti-Israel activism from open contempt for Jews who defend Israel. Berger’s own words collapse that separation. He did not hide the motive. He put it on tape and on social media.
Voters can read the campaign line about free expression without fear of violence. They can also read Berger’s description of putting “all my rage into my fists” and hunting for the nearest available target. Both are now part of the same news cycle around the same fundraiser.
Progressive politics keeps platforming activists who treat pro-Israel Jews as legitimate punching bags, then acts surprised when the tape surfaces.
