Groups combating antisemitism, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Jewish Committee (AJC), and StopAntisemitism, are urging President Trump to withdraw his nomination of Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait.
Ghalib’s nomination came after his endorsement of Trump during the 2024 election, which was part of a significant swing toward Trump among Arab American voters in Michigan. His endorsement was an effort to seek a resolution to the Israel-Palestine war within the Trump administration.
“Amer worked hard to help us secure a historic victory in Michigan,” Trump wrote last week on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Ghalib was elected mayor in 2021, becoming the first Muslim mayor of Hamtramck.
The ADL criticized the his nomination for ambassador, tweeting that he "routinely traffics in antisemitism," supports economic sanctions against Israel, sought to justify the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, and "refused to take disciplinary action against an appointee who attempted to justify the Holocaust." (When asked by the Hamtramck Review about the appointee in question, Ghalib responded, "What do I have to do with his posts?")
Under Ghalib's leadership, the Hamtramck City Council passed Resolution 2024-51, declaring support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a Palestinian-led initiative advocating economic pressure against Israel.
When asked for comment, Hamtramck City Manager Maxwell Garbarino stated, "City Hall supports our mayor."
The White House had not yet officially submitted Ghalib’s nomination to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.
