Ghalib to President Joe Biden: ‘apologize’

Mayor Amer Ghalib

By Charles Sercombe
Mayor Amer Ghalib has some harsh words for President Biden.
Ghalib took issue recently with Biden’s comments about the murder of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Chicago. The boy was stabbed to death by an elderly white male in what is being described as a hate crime.
Biden said, on social media, in part:
“This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are.”
Ghalib, a Muslim Yemeni immigrant, said on his Facebook page that Biden has himself to blame for this murder.
“You fueled (these) kind of hate crimes and Islamophobia by spreading false information and lies (e.g. beheaded babies and raped women),” Ghalib said, in reference to numerous media and government reports about the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel last weekend in which about 1,400 Israelis died.
Ghalib continued: “You make us feel unsafe by trying to justify your support for the criminal and unethical attack on the civilians of Gaza using lies and made up stories.”
“Be a man and apologize for your moral and historic downfall, otherwise the blood of thousands of children and innocent people will be a curse that will follow you to your grave.”
According to the prosecutor in the Chicago murder case, the suspect was motivated after listening to conservative talk radio broadcasts.
The Review reached out via email to State Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck), who is also a Yemeni-American and a Muslim, for his comment on Ghalib’s statement about Biden, but he did not reply.
Ghalib, the first Yemeni-American to be elected mayor in Hamtramck, also had this to say on his Facebook page about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas:
“Peace can never coexist with occupation and injustice, anywhere and at anytime, no matter how strong the oppressor or how weak the oppressed is! There are enough lessons from history for some people to learn this principle.”
This is the full message that Biden released on social media about the murder of the Chicago child:
“Jill and I were shocked and sickened to learn of the brutal murder of a six-year-old child and the attempted murder of the child’s mother in their home yesterday in Illinois.
“The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek — a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace.
“This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are.
“As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred. I have said repeatedly that I will not be silent in the face of hate. We must be unequivocal. There is no place in America for hate against anyone.
“We join everyone here at the White House in sending our condolences and prayers to the family, including for the mother’s recovery, and to the broader Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American communities.”
Ghalib’s criticism of Biden is a far cry from when he met Biden in November of 2021 during the opening of GM’s Factory Zero and posed with him in photographs.
On his Mayor Amer Ghalib Facebook page, he said of that meeting with Biden:
“It was an honor to meet President Biden today during his visit to Factory Zero in Hamtramck. I had the opportunity to talk to him about Hamtramck and its needs. I also had a short conversation with him about the war in Yemen, how it affects some of Hamtramck residents, and the importance of ending it.”
Back in April, Ghalib and members of the city council met with Biden in the White House for a celebration of Eid that included numerous Muslim elected officials.
In the last several weeks, Ghalib has been all over the political map. He has been associating with rightwing Christian nationalists like Michael Flynn, a National Security Advisor for former President Trump.
At one time, Trump banned Muslims who were from Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Syria from traveling to the U.S.
On Tuesday, Trump said that, if re-elected, he would ban allowing immigrants from Gaza to come to the U.S., and would also expel immigrants here who support Hamas.
Ghalib has recently said he does not identify either as a Democrat or a Republican.
Over in Lansing, Hamtramck’s State Rep. Aiyash, who is the state’s first Arab majority floor leader, saw things get dicey for him regarding a proposed resolution on the Gaza-Israel situation.
State Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland) proposed a resolution that supported Israel and condemned the actions of Hamas, which the U.S. government considers to be a terrorist organization.
According to media reports, Aiyash insisted that any resolution regarding this ongoing conflict include the “injustice” that Palestinian people have been facing.
According to the Detroit News, Aiyash said:
“Let’s have a full conversation and that includes the conversation around the occupation and the death of Palestinian civilians in this process.”
On social media, the response to his comments has been varied – and incendiary – as expected.
A person identifying as Tamara Oliverio had this to say about Aiyash on the Facebook page called Hamtramck Square:
“If Aiyash wants to introduce a resolution that addresses the points he made then he has every right to do that. It does not need to be a part of the same resolution. Both can be true and both are worthy of their own resolution.
“Blocking this resolution does NOT help Mr. Aiyash’s cause. It only hurts it.”
Nasr Hussain, a former member of the Hamtramck Board of Education and current candidate for city council, had this response to Oliverio:
“Would you’ve been OK with a resolution supporting Hitler during WW2?”
In the metro area, there was one rally held in Dearborn — which has the largest Arab-American population for a city in the U.S. — in support of Palestinians.
Police departments nationwide have been put on alert for possible violence at protests in support of either Palestinians or Israel.
In Hamtramck, Police Chief Anne Moise said she has taken steps to ensure public safety.
“We have been stepping up patrols around the various institutions based on current world events,” Moise told The Review. “We strongly encourage everyone to report any suspicious activity or behaviors to police.”
Posted Oct. 20, 2023