Amer Ghalib

The troubling case of Amer Ghalib: Trump's Kuwait pick raises red flags - opinion

If dozens of Muslim states are acceptable, if Christian state churches are traditional, then why is one Jewish state too many for Mr. Ghalib to acknowledge?

|BySTEVEN BURG
AMER GHALIB speaks at a rally for then-presidential nominee Donald Trump in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the eve of US Election Day last November. Diplomatic appointments must transcend campaign considerations, the writer asserts.
Hamtramck, Michigan, mayor Amer Ghalib at his Senate confirmation hearing to become President Trump's ambassador to Kuwait, October 23, 2025

Trump nominee for Kuwait ambassador grilled at confirmation hearing, loses support on Israel views

Amer Ghalib faces tough questioning from Republicans over past anti-Israel stances at his confirmation hearing for Kuwait ambassadorship, putting his nomination at risk.

|ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA
Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, speaks at the rally where Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to hold a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S., November 4, 2024.

Jewish groups oppose Trump’s pick of Kuwait envoy over antisemitism concerns

Jewish groups have cited Ghalib's remarks in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack and his past reference to the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who invaded Kuwait, as a "martyr," among other things.

|ByMELISSA NANN BURKE/THE DETROIT NEWS/TNS