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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

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Samirah was born in Chicago on August 20, 1991, a first generation U.S. citizen, to Jordanian-Palestinian immigrant parents.[2] Samirah's grandparents were Palestinian refugees.[3] His mother was pursuing a special education master's degree while working as a teacher and his father was completing a PhD and involved in activism.[4]

Samirah with his parents

When he was in middle school in 2003, Samirah's father was denied re-entry into the United States as a security risk.[4] According to Samirah, his father was returning home to Chicago after visiting Samirah's sick grandmother.[5][4] He eventually moved to Amman in Jordan with his family. In an interview with Washingtonian, Samirah described it as a “depressing time.”[4] Samirah's father was eventually readmitted to the United States in 2014.[6]

In 2013, Samirah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and political science from American University.[7] At American, he was a member of the historically Jewish fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu despite being Muslim.[8] He was also a member of Students for Justice in Palestine and founded the first-ever college chapter for Jewish Voice for Peace at American University.[9][10]

In 2014, Samirah made a series of posts on his Facebook account while he was a dental student which expressed criticism of the Israeli government. One post shared a letter written by Brian Eno in response to Palestinian civilian casualties as a result of Israel Defence Forces airstrikes during 2014 Gaza War, which 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)". In 2019, these posts resurfaced due to being reported on by the far-right Big League Politics website, and Samirah was criticized by political opponents and accused of racism and antisemitism. Samirah subsequently apologized for the posts, though he characterized attacks on him as "a smear campaign."[11]

He earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) from the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine at Boston University in 2017.[12] While he attended dental school, Samirah was a member of Black Lives Matter, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace.[13]

Virginia House of Delegates

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Elections

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.

Samirah defeated Republican Gregg G. Nelson and independent Connie H. Hutchinson, receiving 60% of the vote to Nelson's 34% and Hutchinson's 6%, on February 19, 2019.[14] He was sworn in the next day, becoming the second Muslim elected to the Virginia General Assembly after Sam Rasoul.[15] He was unopposed and won reelection on November 5, 2019.[16]

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

In 2023, he was an unsuccessful candidate for State Senate in the Democratic primary for Virginia's 32nd State Senate District.[1]

Policy positions

Women's rights

Samirah supports codifying and expanding abortion rights.[19] He voted to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.[20][21]

Energy and the environment

Samirah supported enacting a Green New Deal at the state level.[19]

Gun rights

Samirah supports gun control.[19]

Electoral reform

In the 2019 session, Samirah voted in favor of the proposed amendment to the Virginia constitution to create a permanent bipartisan commission for redistricting.[22] In the 2020 session, Samirah backed a bill to allow for expanded absentee voting and recognize election day as a state holiday.[23] Samirah supports adopting automatic voter registration.[24]

Marijuana legalization

Samirah supports legalizing cannabis for recreational use.[19]

Health care

Samirah favors universal health care at the state level.[19]

Labor relations

Samirah supports expanding union and worker rights such as removing Virginia's right-to-work law.[19]

Zoning reform

He supports using state legislation to preempt local zoning ordinances to allow for more multi-family residential, high-density developments on properties currently zoned for single-family detached homes only.[25][26] Samirah supported allowing property owners to convert their properties from single-family units to two-family duplexes, townhouses, or cottages in both established and new neighborhoods without going through the existing local processes for rezoning a residential property.[27][28]

Protesting

On July 30, 2019, Samirah was escorted out of a speech by Donald Trump in Jamestown, Virginia after disrupting the event by standing up and waving card signs consisting of the words "Deport Hate," "Reunite My Family," and "Go Back to Your Corrupted Home."[29]

Electoral history

Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 86th district
January 12, 2019[30] 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
November 5, 2019[31] General Ibraheem S. Samirah Democratic 14,730 88.9
Write Ins 1,836 11.1
June 8, 2021[32] Democratic primary Irene Shin 3,415 51.7
Ibraheem S. Samirah 3,185 48.3
Virginia State Senate, 32nd district
June 20, 2023[33] Democratic primary Suhas Subramanyam 11,178 73.7
Ibraheem S. Samirah 4,000 26.4

Personal life

Samirah lives in Sterling, Virginia.[15]

References

  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 me, “I can’t make a post about health care without someone telling; home.'”, ‘you’re not American Go back (October 27, 2019). "Ibraheem Samirah Is Nowhere Near Done Messing With the Way Virginia Does Politics". Washingtonian. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Tribune, Allison Hantschel, Special to the (May 25, 2014). "Muslim activist returns to suburbs after decade in exile". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Moran, James (March 12, 2010). "United States Court of Appeals: Samirah V. Ahscroft" (PDF). Govinfo.Gov. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  7. ^ "Bio: Ibraheem Samirah". Vote Smart. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  8. ^ Cohen, Zach C. (November 16, 2011). "Sammy's Palestinian brother | Today in New Voices". New Voices: The National Jewish Student Magazine. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Being a Palestinian-American". Her Campus. April 2, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "A movement grows at American University". Mondoweiss. November 30, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Dr. Ibraheem Samirah Joins District Smiles As Senior Dentist In Tenleytown DC". PressCable. MarketersMEDIA. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Sebastian, Dave (April 19, 2016). "Palestinian student advocates protest festival celebrating Israel Independence Day". The Daily Free Press. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "2019 February 19 Special: Official Results". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Douglas, Catherine (February 20, 2019). "Democrat Ibraheem Samirah Wins 86th District Seat". Reston Now. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  16. ^ "Ibraheem Samirah". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  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. ^ a b c d e f Leahy, Norman (November 14, 2019). "Bipartisan excess threatens to engulf Virginia politics". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  20. ^ "Bill Tracking - 2020 session > Legislation". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  21. ^ "Virginia Recorded Vote - General Assembly Votes". recordedvote.org. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  22. ^ "HJ 615 Constitutional amendment; Virginia Redistricting Commission (first reference)". Lis.Virginia.Gov. February 23, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  23. ^ Armstrong, Zach (January 21, 2020). "Bills to make voting easier advance in Virginia legislature". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  24. ^ "Priorities". Samirah 4 Delegate. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  25. ^ Capps, Kriston (December 20, 2019). "With New Democratic Majority, Virginia Sees a Push for Denser Housing". CityLab. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  26. ^ Sisson, Patrick (December 26, 2019). "Virginia latest place to make single family zoning ban a political fight". Curbed. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  27. ^ Britschgi, Christian (December 31, 2019). "Virginia Bill Would End Single-Family-Only Zoning in the Old Dominion". Reason. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  28. ^ Yglesias, Matthew (December 27, 2019). "The telling conservative backlash to a Virginia zoning reform proposal, explained". Vox. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  29. ^ Watson, Kathryn (September 30, 2019). "Democratic Virginia state delegate interrupts Trump's speech". CBS. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  30. ^ "Samirah wins Democratic nomination for 86th House of Delegates District special election". Loudoun Times-Mirror. January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  31. ^ "2019 November General: Official Results". Virginia Department of Elections. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  32. ^ "2021 June Democratic Primary". results.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  33. ^ "2023 June Democratic Primary". elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved July 14, 2023.

External links

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