Watch the video on my Facebook page Today, Israel assassinated Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Shireen is the face of Palestine for Al-Jazeera, the world’s most-watched Arabic-language media outlet. Early this morning, she dressed in her press vest and helmet to once again cover the everyday horrors of Palestinian life under brutal occupation. To be […]
Author: Amer Zahr
Amer Zahr is a Palestinian American comedian, writer, professor and speaker living in Dearborn, Michigan. He is also the editor of "The Civil Arab."
Normalization with Zionism: An Intro
What defines normalization with Zionist groups and individuals? Debates and misunderstandings abound about the subject and what Palestinians demand. Now, I don’t speak for all Palestinians, of course. Nevertheless, I’ll try to break it down as best as I understand it. But let me start by recounting the story of a famous Supreme Court episode. […]
Protesting while white
Like you, I watched the events of last week, as Trump supporters, who happen to be overwhelmingly white, like almost of them, stormed the United States Capitol. And all I could think was, “Man, protesting while white looks amazing.” I’m Arab and Palestinian, and I’ve been to hundreds of protests. I’ve organized dozens of them. […]
I’m voting for the ham
As you all know, along with comedy, I’m a political and social activist. Actually my comedy is activism. I’ve twice been a national surrogate for presidential candidate Amu Bernie Sanders, primarily because he changed the conversation on Palestine at the highest levels of national politics. When it comes to political activism, my number one is […]
Dearborn, Arabs, Mikes, and Jesus
I gotta tell you about Dearborn, Michigan. I live here. I love it. It’s one of Detroit’s most vibrant suburbs. As you might know, Dearborn is home to America’s largest Arab community. We house North America’s largest mosque. And we host the nation’s only Arab American museum. It’s a great American town. Both of […]
J Street is great! Right?
We Palestinians in America have watched AIPAC ravage us for decades. For years, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has specialized in dehumanizing Palestinians, erasing (or denying) our history, and debasing our national aims. Every Palestinian in America, and perhaps worldwide, is raised learning of its evil intentions, achievements, and genius. In fact, one of […]
Boycott Burgerim? Yes!
I’ve been posting and talking about Burgerim for some time now, urging everyone to boycott this burger franchise. In fact, I even got the attention of Burgerim’s attorneys, who sent me a cease and desist order a couple months ago. Needless to say, it didn’t work. I’ll get back to more of that later. Burgerim […]
Don’t mess with Palestinians!
You have to feel bad for the Israelis. They’ve tried everything to get rid of us. But we just won’t die. Over 70 years ago, Israeli militias entered our villages and towns. They came heavily armed, and heavily determined, to displace and dispossess us. They massacred entire populations. They demolished over 400 villages. They stole […]
Palestinians don’t hate Jews, and I can prove it
Recent events in America have compelled me to once again make something clear. Palestinians don’t hate Jews. I can prove it. Google was founded by two Jews. It was. Google it. I love Google. A Jew invented the microphone. That’s pretty important to a stand up comedian like me. I’m deeply thankful for that. We […]
Ilhan, do not apologize. You have us.
Dear sister Ilhan, As a Palestinian, I can tell you that we have seen this movie before. You stand for justice for Palestinians.You say something in that regard.You get labeled an anti-Semite.Repeat cycle. Ilhan, we love you dearly. And I’m here to tell you why we never apologize to them. (DISCLAIMER: By “them,” of course I […]
I said, “Please don’t be Arab” … then I realized he couldn’t be
This past weekend, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Robert Bowers calmly walked into the Tree of Life Congregation and murdered eleven Jewish parishioners. Reportedly, he yelled out, “All Jews must die!” It was the single deadliest attack on Jews in American history. May the victims rest in peace and may their souls be […]
Are we Palestinians so hard to understand?
It’s been more than a week now of Israel murdering Palestinians in Gaza. To be clear, their deaths were not the result of “clashes” or “violent confrontations.” It started with tens of thousands of Palestinians, imprisoned in Gaza, marching. Along with their extended family throughout our historic homeland, they walked nonviolently toward their ancestral villages […]
Yes, “Black Panther” is a little anti-Muslim
Before I get into this amateur movie review of “Black Panther,” and before I get into trouble, let me start with a few statistics. Half of the residents of the African continent are Muslim. 33% of worldwide Muslims live in Africa, and they don’t only dwell in nations where Arabic is the official language, like […]
Trump’s immigration policy is more American than you think
It’s quite popular these days to declare that Donald Trump’s racist views on immigration are “un-American.” He only wants white people coming here. “Why can’t we have more people from Norway?” He wants to get rid of Latinos and black people. “Do we really need more Haitians?” He devalues, denigrates, and dehumanizes the culture of Africans. […]
Jerusalem still speaks Arabic
It doesn’t matter where anyone builds their diplomatic palaces. Jerusalem still speaks Arabic. I’ve heard her. Hundreds of restaurants offer falafel, hummus, shawarma, pomegranate juice, and knafeh. Believe me. I’ve tried them all. But there aren’t any delis. No corned beef sandwiches on rye. No bagel shops. No lox. Don’t get me wrong. All those […]
One state in Palestein
The events of the past couple months circulating around the Palestine/Israel saga have been even more intriguing than usual. From December’s passing (and controversial US abstention) of United Nations Resolution 2334, to the Obama-Bibi breakup, to John Kerry’s 70-minute speech in his last days as Secretary of State, there has been no shortage of drama. And today’s joint press […]
Sam Harris, Bill Maher, and their amateur hour on Islam
It is quite easy to identify the Islamophobia of Donald Trump and many on the right. The “Muslim Ban,” manufactured rage about sharia law, Muslim registries… these things are quite simple to get worked up about. Civil rights organizations, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, rightly point these things out and criticize them roundly. But these things are […]
A letter to my Trump-voting neighbors
Donald Trump won. I’m not here to tell you that Bernie would have beaten him, or that Hillary won the popular vote, or that voter suppression laws affected things, or anything like that. In our constitutional system, Donald Trump won the presidency. It’s done. I know why you voted for him. Trump tore down the […]
The Arab American Bernie aftermath
As an Arab American surrogate for Bernie Sanders, there’s been a lot to think about since yesterday’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton. I’m a former surrogate now, I guess. Of course, Bernie had said from the beginning that he would support Hillary Clinton if he lost the nomination. So, yesterday was no surprise in the grand […]
My grandfather’s name was Muhammad too
I was an Arab-Muslim-Palestinian-Christian-American kid growing up in a quiet, all-white, insulated suburb of Philadelphia. I always knew I was a little different. I had parents and grandparents with weird accents. On weekends, my parents packed us in the car to go see other kids who had parents and grandparents with weird accents. I constantly […]