He told The Detroit News Sunday that the party had done a good job over the past two years in making more room for all members. The record attendance, he said, is proof the Michigan Democratic Party is “trying to be the big tent party and we’ve got to continue growing that.”

“It’s clear that anti-war voters of all stripes, including Arab Americans in Michigan, are going to be critical to our path forward as Democrats,” Alawieh said. “As Democrats, we have to be proactive about reaching out to disaffected voters and voters that we’ve lost to the Republican party.”

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, pushed delegates to ask candidates seeking their vote real questions about actions to combat neighborhood pollution or their stances on federal actions in the Middle East. Pushing for those discussions among candidates will ultimately help improve the party, she said.

“We’re not anti-Democratic Party,” Tlaib said. “We’re trying to make the Democratic Party better.”

El-Sayed, a Muslim Democrat running for U.S. Senate, told members of the party’s Jewish Caucus that he would focus on issues affecting all communities, including allying against “anti-religious bigotry.”

“A lot of folks want us to pay attention to things that we might disagree on happening 6,000 miles away rather than reminding us about the things we agree on happening right here in our state,” El-Sayed said.

Regent candidates debate ‘elephant in the room’

Earlier in the day, the state party’s Jewish Caucus also heard from candidates who expressed a commitment to maintaining a place within the party for Jewish candidates and voters.

Acker, a Jewish Democrat fighting to retain his seat on the University of Michigan Board of Regents, and his fellow incumbent Paul Brown argued Acker had been targeted in his role as regent and in the nomination race. Brown called it the “elephant in the room”

Acker and Brown were running to retain their seats against Makled, a Dearborn attorney who represented several students who faced charges after protests calling on UM to divest from weapons manufacturing and Israel.

Brown argued that Acker had borne the brunt of attacks during the campus unrest and the nomination campaign.

“There’s one difference between Jordan and I,” Brown told members of the Jewish Caucus, “and that is, Jordan is Jewish, and I am not.”

Acker, a personal injury lawyer, said he wouldn’t be cowed by efforts to oust him from the board and credited Jewish Democrats with being significant leaders in civil rights fights over the decades.

“We have a message that we can send today, that we will not be pushed out of this coalition,” Acker said.

Makled, for his part, encouraged members of the Arab American Caucus also to hold their ground within the party.

“We want to make sure this electorate, this convention is giving an image of unity to the Democratic Party, that we’re collectively trying to push the better foot forward, but we’re also not afraid to stand up and speak for our issues as Arab Americans,” Makled said.

The contest between Makled and Acker was particularly heated.

Makled was criticized for reposting, and later deleting, praise for Hezbollah and antisemitic remarks on his social media account, deleted posts.

And The Guardian on Friday reported that Acker appeared to have made obscene sexual comments about a Democratic party strategist and lewd comments about a female U-M student in Slack messages.

When asked Simday about the messages by The News, Acker said the allegations were “ridiculous” and “fake.”

Acker’s attorney, Ethan Holtz, later sent a statement to The News alleging Acker “has never been on Slack” and that the messages contained elements that appeared to be “doctored.”

eleblanc@detroitnews.com