![Democratic Muslim Mayor Amer Ghalib of Hamtramck, Michigan speaks before former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds his final campaign rally before election day at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 4, 2024. [JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP/ Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2182343350.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Several prominent Jewish American organisations have called on US President Donald Trump to withdraw the nomination of Yemeni American Amir Ghaleb for the position of Ambassador to Kuwait, accusing him of espousing anti-Semitic positions.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the largest Jewish lobby organisation in the US claimed that Ghaleb “has routinely promoted anti-Jewish rhetoric,” citing his justification for Hamas’s cross- border incursion on 7 October, 2023, and his support for a municipal resolution calling for a commercial boycott of Israel due to its aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza.
“As ADL’s recent Global 100 poll revealed, Kuwait has the second highest levels of anti-Semitic attitudes in the world at 97 per cent and having Ghalib represent US interests in Kuwait could further fuel anti-Semitic beliefs in the country and across the region,” claimed the strongly pro-Israel ADL.
Other organisations, such as the American Jewish Committee, Stop Anti-Semitism and the Democratic Majority for Israel, joined the criticism that escalated after Trump announced Ghaleb’s nomination on 7 March.
The latter group accused Ghaleb of liking a social media post that described Jews as “monkeys” and that, during his tenure as mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, he oversaw divestment initiatives from what he described as “Israeli apartheid”. Several human rights groups have found that Israel has, indeed, passed the legal threshold to be described as an apartheid state, including B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
The Jewish organisation also noted his denial of the 7 October attack and his ban on flying LGBT flags on public property in Hamtramck during his tenure.
Despite the escalating controversy, Ghaleb participated in a Ramadan iftar dinner held at the White House on 27 March, where Trump thanked him for his support in the 2024 presidential campaign and congratulated him on his nomination. “You’ll be the next ambassador to Kuwait, and you’ll have a wonderful time there,” Trump told him. “They’re wonderful people.”
The US Senate formally received Ghaleb’s nomination on 24 March, but it has yet to be confirmed.
READ: Gaza’s Health Ministry warns of ‘health disaster’ amid Israeli ban on polio vaccines