Ibraheem Samirah

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Ibraheem Samirah
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 86th district
In office
February 20, 2019 – January 12, 2022
Preceded byJennifer Boysko
Succeeded byIrene Shin
Personal details
Born (1991-08-20) August 20, 1991 (age 32)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceSterling, Virginia
Alma materAmerican University (BA)
Boston University (DMD)
OccupationDentist

Ibraheem S. Samirah (born August 20, 1991) is an American politician. He served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 86th district from 2019 to 2022. First elected in a special election, he was defeated for re-election in the Democratic primary by Irene Shin in June 2021.

In 2023, he unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for State Senate for Virginia's 32nd State Senate District.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Samirah was born in Chicago on August 20, 1991 to Jordanian-Palestinian parents.[2] Samirah's grandparents were Palestinian.[3] He has described his father as a community activist in the Muslim community.[4] In 2003 when Samirah was 11, his father was denied re-entry into the United States as a national security risk.[4] This resulted in the family moving to Amman, Jordan. Samirah's father was eventually readmitted to the United States in 2014 and he returned to the United States to study at American University.[4][5]

Samirah with his parents

In 2013, Samirah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and political science.[6] In university, he was active in supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions with Students for Justice in Palestine and founded the first-ever college chapter for Jewish Voice for Peace at American University.[7][8] He was an observant Muslim throughout college.[4]

He earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) from the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine at Boston University in 2017.[9] While he attended dental school, Samirah was a member of Black Lives Matter, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace.[10]

Antisemitism[edit]

In 2014, Samirah made a series of antisemitic posts on his Facebook account. One post stated that "funding Israel is like supporting the Ku Klux Klan". On another post, Samirah wrote in response to the death of Ariel Sharon that the former prime minister of Israel should "burn a million times for every innocent soul you killed" along with "our beloved Arab 'leaders' (butchers I should say)" adding that “hell is excited to have you”.[4] In 2019, these posts were resurfaced by Big League Politics, and Samirah was criticized by political opponents and accused of racism and antisemitism.

Though Samirah apologized for the posts, he later characterized attacks on him as "a smear campaign" and accused Democrats of having "succumbed to the extreme-right propaganda machine" in objecting to his antisemitism.[11][12]

House of Delegates[edit]

After Jennifer Boysko was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 2019, Samirah ran in the special election to complete the remainder of her term in the Virginia House of Delegates. He won the election and was sworn in the following day.[13][14] He was unopposed and won reelection on November 5, 2019.[15]

2019 protest[edit]

On July 30, 2019, Samirah disrupted a speech by Donald Trump in Jamestown, Virginia.[16]

2021 primary defeat[edit]

In June 2021, he was defeated in the Democratic primary by non-profit organizer Irene Shin.[17][18]

Following his defeat in October 2021, Samirah spread antisemitic conspiracy theories accusing Mossad of creating "fossil fuel wars" with "malicious intent".[19] The posts caused alarm among local Jewish leaders helping contribute to Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin capturing an unexpectedly large portion of the Jewish vote in the subsequent general election.[20]

Virginia State Senate defeat[edit]

In 2023, Samirah ran for the Virginia State Senate in the Democratic primary for Virginia's 32nd State Senate District.[1] He was overwhelmingly defeated in the Democratic primary by Del. Suhas Subramanyam who went on to win the general election.[21]

Electoral history[edit]

February 2019 special election[edit]

After Jennifer Boysko was elected to the Senate of Virginia, Samirah ran in the special election to complete the remainder of her term in February 2019.

Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 86th district
January 12, 2019[22] Democratic primary Ibraheem S. Samirah 733 35.8
Kofi Annan 615 30.0
Mike O'Reilly 503 24.6
Chad Thompson 196 9.6
February 19, 2019[14] Special Ibraheem S. Samirah Democratic 3,740 59.5
Gregg G. Nelson Republican 2,162 34.4
Connie H. Hutchinson Independent 370 5.9
Write Ins 13 0.2
Jennifer Boysko resigned; seat stayed Democratic

2019 general election[edit]

Following his win in the 2019 special election, Samirah was unopposed for reelection in the November general election.

Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 86th district
November 5, 2019[23] General Ibraheem S. Samirah Democratic 14,730 88.9
Write Ins 1,836 11.1

2021 general election primary[edit]

Samirah filed for reelection in 2021. However, he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Irene Shin.

Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 86th district
June 8, 2021[24] Democratic primary Irene Shin 3,415 51.7
Ibraheem S. Samirah 3,185 48.3

2023 general election[edit]

Samirah unsuccessfully ran for State Senate in 2023 and was defeated in the primary by Suhas Subramanyam.

Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia State Senate, 32nd district
June 20, 2023[25] Democratic primary Suhas Subramanyam 11,178 73.7
Ibraheem S. Samirah 4,000 26.4

Personal life[edit]

Samirah lives in Sterling, Virginia.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Ibraheem Samirah Will Run for Virginia Senate - Washingtonian". March 6, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  2. ^ Cline, Nathaniel (February 19, 2019). "Democrat Ibraheem Samirah wins House of Delegates 86th District special election | News". loudountimes.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  3. ^ "Exiled as a 'Security' Threat, Former Orland Man May Soon Return". Orland Park, IL Patch. September 9, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Beaujon, Andrew (October 27, 2019). "Ibraheem Samirah Is Nowhere Near Done Messing With the Way Virginia Does Politics". Washingtonian. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Moran, James (March 12, 2010). "United States Court of Appeals: Samirah V. Ahscroft" (PDF). Govinfo.Gov. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  6. ^ "Bio: Ibraheem Samirah". Vote Smart. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  7. ^ "Being a Palestinian-American". Her Campus. April 2, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "A movement grows at American University". Mondoweiss. November 30, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  9. ^ "Dr. Ibraheem Samirah Joins District Smiles As Senior Dentist In Tenleytown DC". PressCable. MarketersMEDIA. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  10. ^ Sebastian, Dave (April 19, 2016). "Palestinian student advocates protest festival celebrating Israel Independence Day". The Daily Free Press. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  11. ^ Cline, Nathaniel (February 11, 2019). "Democratic House of Delegates candidate says he's 'so sorry' after anti-Semitic comments". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  12. ^ Olivo, Antonia (February 19, 2019). "Va. Democrat who was attacked for remarks against Israel wins election for House seat". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Douglas, Catherine (February 20, 2019). "Democrat Ibraheem Samirah Wins 86th District Seat". Reston Now. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "2019 February 19 Special: Official Results". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  15. ^ "Ibraheem Samirah". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Watson, Kathryn (September 30, 2019). "Democratic Virginia state delegate interrupts Trump's speech". CBS. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  17. ^ Cline, Nathaniel (June 9, 2021). "Shin unseats Samirah for Democratic nomination in 86th House District race; to face Herndon teacher Julie Perry in November". Loudoun Times. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  18. ^ Nathaniel Cline (June 9, 2021). "Shin unseats Samirah for Democratic nomination in 86th House District race; to face Herndon teacher Julie Perry in November". LoudounTimes.com. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  19. ^ Kampeas, Ron (October 23, 2021). "Virginia Democratic delegate accuses Mossad of creating 'fossil fuel wars'". Times of Israel. JTA.
  20. ^ Twitter post by Josh Kraushaar (2021-11-03)
  21. ^ "Subramanyam wins Democratic primary for 32nd District Senate seat in Loudoun". INSIDENOVA.COM. June 20, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  22. ^ "Samirah wins Democratic nomination for 86th House of Delegates District special election". Loudoun Times-Mirror. January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  23. ^ "2019 November General: Official Results". Virginia Department of Elections. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  24. ^ "2021 June Democratic Primary". results.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  25. ^ "2023 June Democratic Primary". elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved July 14, 2023.

External links[edit]

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