Amer Zahr is a Palestinian-American comedian, speaker, writer, and academic, who as of 2025 was teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He has produced and starred in several national comedy tours and authored the book Being Palestinian Makes Me Smile (2014). ¹

In 2016 and 2020, Amer served as a surrogate for then-presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). ¹ In the 2024 presidential election, Jill Stein, the presumptive Green Party nominee for president, was reportedly considering Zahr to be her vice presidential candidate, despite his being Constitutionally ineligible for the office. ²

Education and Career

Amer Zahr was born to Palestinian refugees, which he claims has had an influence on his comedic and academic interests, as he often performs and lectures on topics including Palestinian identity, Islam, and politics. He holds a bachelor’s in history, a master’s degree in Middle Eastern and North Africa Studies, and a law degree, all from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. ^{1  3}

In 2015, Zahr founded the annual “1001 Laughs Palestine Comedy Festival” which entertains over 2,000 Palestinians annually. He is also the founder and producer of the annual “1001 Laughs Dearborn Comedy Festival” in Dearborn, Michigan, where he lives. This festival was launched in 2013 and was continuing to be held as of 2025. ¹

In June 2015, Zahr headlined at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. where he also produced the show, making it the first time that an all-Palestinian cast took the stage at the venue. In February 2016, Zahr headlined a show at Carnegie Hall in New York City, alongside Palestinian-American comedians Said Durrah, Mona Aburmishan, and Mike Easmeil. He has produced and headlined several of his own comedy tours, including “1001 Laughs,” “Where Are You From From?,” “We’re Not White!” and “In 1948.” ¹

In 2017, Zahr debuted his first comedic documentary film, We’re Not White, which portrays the process of petitioning the United States Census Bureau to add an Arab-American box to the United States Census Form. Zahr is also the author of the “Civil Arab” blog, as well as the book Being Palestinian Makes Me Smile. He writes and speaks widely on political and social affairs, and has appeared on and been published by Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, TIME, and Al-Jazeera.  ¹

Political Advocacy

Bernie Sanders

Amer Zahr was a national surrogate for presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2016 and 2020. ¹ This sparked controversy in the Jewish community, as some accused Zahr of antisemitism. In a 2021 video he posted to X (then Twitter), Zahr called on people to “stop condemning antisemitism” because “we have been doing it for generations,” so we need to “stop it.” Instead, he encouraged people to “[s]ay free, free, free Palestine and nothing else.” ⁴

In 2020, left-of-center pro-Israel group Zioness released a statement condemning the Sanders campaign for including Zahr as a national surrogate. The group claimed to “feel increasingly abandoned by Bernie Sanders and his campaign, as the antisemitism of another surrogate of his, Amer Zahr, is being covered up without remorse or acknowledgement.” The group referenced a since-deleted Tweet from Zahr comparing Israel to ISIS. ⁵

Still, Zahr remained a national surrogate for Sen. Sanders and claimed to help bolster Sanders’ electoral performance with Arab-Americans, whom he distinguishes from Muslim-Americans. In 2020, Zahr claimed “[h]alf of the Arab-American community in America is Christian. And remember, most Muslims in America are not Arab.” Sanders won the Democratic primary vote in Dearborn, Michigan, a Muslim- and Arab-majority city. ⁶

Jill Stein Running Mate Consideration

In August 2024, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was reportedly considering three pro-Palestinian figures as potential vice presidential candidates, including Abed Ayoub, executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC); Jacqueline Luqman, a journalist and activist; and Amer Zahr. ² Stein selected none of these candidates as her running mate, choosing Butch Ware instead. ⁷

Support for Palestinians

In a February 2025 lecture at the Wisconsin Union Directorate Distinguished Lecture Series, Amer Zahr expressed concerns over the potential deportation of many of his Arab neighbors in Dearborn, Michigan because they aren’t “white.” In a related interview with the Badger Herald, Zahr expressed his support for student protesters at the University of Wisconsin, particularly the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). He encouraged the students to “[k]eep having those principles” of protesting when they leave college. ⁸

In a March 2025 interview, Zahr expressed how “Gaza was the biggest issue in the election. It is what made Biden drop out; don’t let anyone tell you anything different. And it’s the reason Harris lost.” Zahr supported the movement of Arab-Americans away from Biden in the 2024 election but did not support President Donald Trump either. However, Zahr expressed gratitude for Trump’s negotiation skills, claiming that “in a weird way, he [Trump] kind of brings people together to talk about justice in Palestine. So there may be a silver lining to all of this.” ⁹

Election to Dearborn School Board

In 2024, Amer Zahr was elected to the Dearborn, Michigan School Board. He was appointed as Secretary of the Board. ¹⁰ Several criticized his election to the board, including an opinion editorial from the Washington Free Beacon that accused Zahr of spreading antisemitism and encouraging people to “stand with” Hamas and Hezbollah. ¹¹

1. “About.” Amer Zahr. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.amerzahr.com/about/
2. Harb, Ali. “US candidate Jill Stein considering vocal Palestine advocates for VP spot.” Al Jazeera. August 3, 2024. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/3/us-candidate-jill-stein-considering-vocal-palestine-advocates-for-vp-spot
3. “Education – Amer Zahr.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amer-zahr-07914254/details/education/
4. “Amer Zahr, national surrogate for Sanders: Don’t condemn antisemitism.” Jerusalem Post. May 26, 2021. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.jpost.com/international/amer-zahr-national-surrogate-for-sanders-dont-condemn-antisemitism-669179
5. “Zioness Statement on Bernie Sander and Amer Zahr.” Zioness. February 20, 2020. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://zioness.org/zioness-statement-on-bernie-sander-and-amer-zahr/
6. “Why Arab American voters are going for Bernie Sanders.” Michigan Public, NPR. March 2, 2020. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2020-03-02/why-arab-american-voters-are-going-for-bernie-sanders
7. Ni, Jasmine. “Green Party selects Penn alum Butch Ware as 2024 vice presidential nominee. The Daily Pennsylvanian. September 4, 2024. Accessed September 28, 2025. http://www.thedp.com/article/2024/09/penn-green-party-vice-president-candidate-butch-ware
8. Homan, Mia. “Takeaways from Palestinian-American author, comedian Amer Zahr’s WUD lecture.” Badger Herald. February 8, 2025. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://badgerherald.com/news/campus/2025/02/08/takeaways-from-palestinian-american-author-comedian-amer-zahrs-wud-lecture/
9. Javed, Faraz. “Activists in ‘uncommitted’ movement weigh in on current Trump administration.” WXYZ News. March 4, 2025. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.wxyz.com/news/voices/activists-in-uncommitted-movement-weigh-in-on-current-trump-administration
10. “Board of Education welcomes new trustees, reorganizes for new year.” Dearborn Schools. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://firstbell.dearbornschools.org/2025/01/14/board-of-education-welcomes-new-trustees-reorganizes-for-new-year/
11. Ross, Chuck. “Pro-Hamas Bernie Bro Elected to Dearborn School Board.” Washington Free Beacon. November 6, 2024. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://freebeacon.com/elections/pro-hamas-bernie-bro-elected-to-dearborn-school-board/