Amer Zahr (born 1977) is a Palestinian-American author, comedian and political activist.

Early life

Zahr was born in Jordan to refugee parents of Palestinian heritage originally from

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, and then moved to the United States when he was three years old. His father is Christian and his mother is Muslim, and he was raised with both traditions in the Philadelphia area.

Career

In 2013, Zahr founded the "1001 Laughs Dearborn Comedy Festival," which continues annually. He wrote "Being a Palestinian Makes Me Smile" and made the documentary ''We’re Not White'', which was released in August 2017. In 2016, Zahr served as a national surrogate for presidential candidate

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

. Jill Stein, the presumptive Green Party nominee for President, was reportedly considering Zahr to be her running mate in the

2024 United States presidential election The 2024 United States presidential election will be the 60th quadrennial presidential election, scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2024. It will be the first presidential election after electoral votes were redistributed during the 2020 ce ...

, despite his being Constitutionally ineligible for the office.

Personal life

Zahr lives, and is based in,

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Zahr also holds Israeli citizenship through his mother, who was born in

Acre, Israel Acre ( ), known locally as Akko ( he, עַכּוֹ, ''ʻAkō'') or Akka ( ar, عكّا, ''ʻAkkā''), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies an important location, sitting in a natural harb ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahr, Amer Living people American stand-up comedians American comedians of Middle Eastern descent American people of Palestinian descent Comedians from Michigan University of Detroit Mercy faculty Jordanian emigrants to the United States 1977 births 21st-century American comedians