Amer Zahr is a Palestinian Arab American comedian, speaker, writer, academic, and adjunct professor at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He draws on his experiences growing up as a child of Palestinian refugees, performing and lecturing on topics like politics, society, culture, identity, Palestine, Islam, and more.
In 2016 and 2020, Amer served as a surrogate for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Here’s Amer introducing Bernie at a rally in March 2020.
In February 2016, Amer headlined a packed house at New York City’s world-famous Carnegie Hall, alongside Palestinian-American comedians Said Durrah, Mona Aburmishan, and Mike Easmeil
In June 2015, Amer headlined at the world-famous John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. He produced this show as well, making it the first time that an all-Palestinian cast took the stage at the internationally-renowned venue.
He has produced and headlined in 3 of his own comedy tours, “1001 Laughs”, “Where Are You From From?”, “We’re Not White!” and “In 1948.”
In 2015, Amer founded the annual “1001 Laughs Palestine Comedy Festival.” The festival entertains over 2,000 locals annually, and it still goes on until today. Amer, as the producer of the festival, received great acclaim and much media attention from the following outlets:
CNN | CNN Arabic | BBC Arabic | Haaretz | Al-Hurra | Palestine Today | Wattan TV | MAAN Network | 972 Mag | Palestine News Network | Sky News
He is also the founder and producer of the annual “1001 Laughs Dearborn Comedy Festival” in Dearborn, Michigan. This festival was launched in 2013 and also continues until today.
In 2017, Amer debuted his first documentary film, “We’re Not White,” a comedic and informative approach to the Arab-American struggle to get a box on the United States Census Form.
Watch the film here.
He is also the author of the well-read blog “The Civil Arab,” as well as his first book, “Being Palestinian Makes Me Smile,” a collection of his writings relating to being Palestinian.
Amer holds an MA in Middle Eastern and North Africa Studies and a Juris Doctorate, both from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He writes and speaks widely on political and social affairs, and has appeared on radio and television, including Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and more. Some of his writings have been featured in major publications, including Time magazine and Al-Jazeera.
Amer has performed almost everywhere in America. He has also starred on stages in Canada, Europe, & the Arab world, in major cities like Jerusalem, Amman, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Haifa, Nazareth, Muscat (Oman), Kuwait City, Cairo, Beirut, Dubai, London, Toronto, Abu Dhabi, Montreal, Edmonton.
Here are some of the campuses I have performed at:
| Campus Name |
|---|
| Albion College |
| Brown University |
| California State University - Fullerton |
| Carnegie Mellon University |
| Harvard University |
| Loyola University - Chicago |
| Michigan State University |
| North Carolina State University |
| Ohio State University |
| Penn State University |
| Portland State University |
| San Diego State University |
| St Benedictine University |
| Stanford University |
| UCLA |
| University of Chicago |
| University of Colorado |
| University of Connecticut |
| University of Illinois |
| University of Iowa |
| University of Mary Washington |
| University of Maryland |
| University of Michigan |
| University of North Carolina |
| University of Oregon |
| University of Pennsylvania |
| University of South Florida |
| University of Tennessee |
| University of Texas |
| University of Wisconsin |
| Virginia Tech |
| Washington State University |
| Wooster College |