Ibraheem Samirah
State delegateVirginia
District86th
PredecessorJennifer Boysko
SuccessorIrene Shin
Term startFebruary 20, 2019
Term endJanuary 12, 2022
Birth dateAugust 20, 1991 (age 35)
Birth placeChicago, Illinois, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Alma materAmerican University (BA)
Boston University (DMD)
OccupationDentist

Ibraheem S. Samirah (born August 20, 1991) is a Palestinian-American Democratic politician. He was elected in a 2019 special election to become a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 86th district, and served in that position until 2022. He was one of the first Palestinian-American and Muslim Americans to be elected to the Virginia General Assembly. He lost the Democratic primary for the seat to Irene Shin in June 2021. Following this defeat, he has unsuccessfully run for two different positions.

In 2019, he drew national attention after interrupting a speech by President Donald Trump at a Jamestown commemoration event. He has later garnered controversy over past social media posts, including remarks concerning Israel and U.S. foreign policy. In 2025, he was convicted of wire fraud.

Early life and education

Samirah was born in Chicago on August 20, 1991 to Jordanian-Palestinian parents.[1] Samirah's grandparents were Palestinian refugees.[2] He has described his father as a community activist in the Muslim community.[3] In 2003, when Samirah was 11, his father was denied re-entry into the United States on national security grounds.[4] This resulted in the family moving to Amman, Jordan. Samirah's father was readmitted to the United States in 2014, after defeating the government in court where the judge declared in their ruling that the government's position was "totally asinine."[3][5][6]

In 2013, Samirah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and political science from American University.[7][8] He subsequently obtained MD in Dentistry from Boston University.[8]

He co-founded a Jewish Voice for Peace chapter at American University, and was an observant Muslim throughout college.[3][9][10]

While attending dental school, Samirah was a member of Students for Justice in Palestine.[11] He also held leadership roles in other progressive advocacy organizations.[12]

Prior to entering elected office, Samirah became active in progressive political causes, including involvement with local Democratic organizations and participation in grassroots campaigns related to housing, education, and civil rights.[13] He also worked in Massachusetts to defeat an anti-BDS bill in 2016.[14]

Career

Before starting career in politics, Samirah worked as a dentist.[15][16]

Jamestown protest

In July 2019, Samirah interrupted President Donald Trump's speech in Jamestown during an event marking the 400th anniversary of the Virginia General Assembly. Holding signs reading "go back to your corrupted home," "deport hate," and "reunite my family and all shattered by systemic discrimination."[17] He called out, "Mr. President, you can't send us back.[18][19] Virginia is our home," before being removed by Capitol Police and Secret Service officers. He was escorted out by state police as some attendees booed and chanted in support of Trump.[20]

Following the protest, Samirah reported receiving threats, including death threats, via email and social media, and stated that he requested that Virginia Capitol Police investigate. The visit drew criticism from members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and other Democratic lawmakers, who boycotted the event and argued that Trump's rhetoric was inconsistent with the values celebrated at the 400th anniversary.[20][21]

House of Delegates

After Delegate Jennifer Boysko was elected to the Senate of Virginia, Samirah ran for her vacant seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, winning a special election in February 2019.[22][23] In a town hall after his election, he was asked by a constituent whether he planned to implement Sharia law, which Samirah stated was an attack on his faith.[24][25][26] There were about two dozen protesters, some with anti-abortion and pro-Israel signs, outside Herndon Town Hall ahead of this meeting.[27][25] During the special election, Samirah campaigned on expanding affordable health care access and funding universal prekindergarten, along with transportation and education improvements in his district.[28] Samirah ran for reelection unopposed that November.[29]

Samirah drew a challenger in the Democratic primary in 2021, and was defeated by Irene Shin, who went on to win the general election.[30] During the primary, Shin's campaign benefited from a $120,000 donation by the Democratic Principles PAC, which was connected with Unite America, a centrist political action committee.[31]

Later political campaigns

In 2023, Samirah ran in the Democratic primary for Virginia's 32nd State Senate district, which he would lose to Delegate Suhas Subramanyam, who went on to win the general election.[32] In 2024, after Subramanyam's election to the United States House of Representatives, Samirah ran to replace his seat of Virginia's 32nd Senate district in a firehouse primary held on November 16, 2024, losing to Delegate Kannan Srinivasan.[33][34] Following Srinivasan's victory in the Democratic primary special election for Virginia's 32nd Senate district, Samirah ran in a special election to replace his seat for Virginia's 26th House of Delegates district.[35][36] Some Democrats questioned whether he met the residency requirements for the 26th district during the campaign.[35] JJ Singh won the election, with Samirah coming in third.[37]

State chair for U.S. Term Limits

In February 2026, Samirah started serving as the Virginia state chair for U.S. Term Limits, a non-profit group dedicated to enacting term limits for elected officials at every level of government in the United States.[38][39]

Political positions

Education

In 2022, Samirah called the Fairfax County School Board's response to an incident of Islamophobia at Fairfax High School "unacceptable", and outlined steps he wished they would use to address Islamophobia in the future.[40]

Environment

He co-sponsored a bill known as the Virginia Green New Deal, which supporters claimed was intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[41] He also signed a letter opposing the Transcontinental Pipeline.[42]

Healthcare

Samirah advocated for the creation of a state-level public health insurance option to address coverage gaps and rising healthcare costs. He framed the proposal as a response to insurance losses and cost burdens exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and pointed to similar efforts in other states as potential models for Virginia.[43]

Housing

In December 2019, he introduced 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.[44] The legislation ultimately did not advance out of committee.[45]

Policing

In September 2020, Samirah voted against a bill to end qualified immunity for Virginia police officers, which he attributed to a miscalculation on whether the bill had enough support to pass.[46] On May 31, 2020, he attended a George Floyd protest in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C and was hit with tear gas.[47][48] Later, in June 2020, during protests in Richmond over police violence, Samirah criticized the heavy police presence around the state capitol and condemned the use of tear gas and other munitions against demonstrators.[49]

Privacy

In 2021, Samirah was one of the few Virginia legislators to oppose an Amazon-drafted state data privacy bill; in a Reuters investigation, he criticized the law as allowing technology firms too much latitude to collect and use Virginians' personal data. He would call Amazon's approach "an attempt at controlling the problem before it gets out of their hands."[50]

Voting rights and transparency

In January 2020, Samirah backed a bill to allow for expanded absentee voting and recognize election day as a state holiday.[51] Samirah also co-sponsored legislation directing the Virginia Department of Social Services to participate in the Restaurant Meals Program of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.[52] He sponsored a bill that would ban public service companies from donating money to the state lawmakers.[53]

Controversies

2014 posts comparing Israel and the KKK

In 2014, Samirah made comments on Facebook comparing support for Israel to support for the KKK, as well as writing that former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should "burn a million times" for deaths Samirah attributed to him.[54] During Samirah's 2019 special election campaign, the far-right political website Big League Politics brought attention to the posts. His opponents in the 2019 special election described the comments as antisemitic. Samirah issued a written apology, describing the posts as poorly worded and hurtful, and stated that they were intended as criticism of Israeli government policy, not of Judaism or Jewish people.[54][55]

2021 tweets

In October 2021, Samirah supported a decision by the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Sunrise Movement to withdraw from a voting-rights rally due to the participation of Zionist organizations.[56] He also wrote on social media that the Mossad "creates fossil fuel wars" through the use of misleading intelligence, citing the Iraq War and other Middle East conflicts.[57] In later statements, Samirah argued that conflating Judaism with Zionism was itself antisemitic and said his comments were directed at Israeli state policy.[56][57]

2025 wire fraud conviction

In 2025, Samirah pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud related to an $83,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan he obtained in 2020 for his dental practice.[58] According to court documents, he certified that the practice had four employees and a substantial payroll, although it did not have paid staff at the time. He submitted and backdated payroll and tax records and later sought loan forgiveness based on that documentation. At sentencing, Samirah described the loan as a poor decision made under financial pressure and said he had misunderstood the program's requirements. He was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $88,000 in restitution.[59][60]

Electoral history

February 2019 special election

DateElectionCandidatePartyVotes%
Virginia House of Delegates, 86th district
January 12, 2019[61]Democratic primaryIbraheem S. Samirah73335.8
Kofi Annan61530.0
Mike O'Reilly50324.6
Chad Thompson1969.6
February 19, 2019[23]SpecialIbraheem S. SamirahDemocratic3,74059.5
Gregg G. NelsonRepublican2,16234.4
Connie H. HutchinsonIndependent3705.9
Write Ins130.2
Jennifer Boysko resigned; seat stayed Democratic

2019 general election

DateElectionCandidatePartyVotes%
Virginia House of Delegates, 86th district
November 5, 2019[62]GeneralIbraheem S. SamirahDemocratic14,73088.9
Write Ins1,83611.1

2021 general election primary

DateElectionCandidateVotes%
Virginia House of Delegates, 86th district
June 8, 2021[63]Democratic primaryIrene Shin3,41551.7
Ibraheem S. Samirah3,18548.3

2023 general election

DateElectionCandidateVotes%
Virginia State Senate, 32nd district
June 20, 2023[64]Democratic primarySuhas Subramanyam11,17873.7
Ibraheem S. Samirah4,00026.4

2024 special elections

DateElectionCandidateVotes%
Virginia House of Delegates, 32nd district
November 13, 2024[65]Democratic primaryKannan Srinivasan2,69844.5%
Ibraheem Samirah1,28821.2%
Buta Biberaj82313.6%
Sreedhar Nagireddi5749.5%
Hurunnessa Fariad4287.1%
Puja Khanna2544.2%
DateElectionCandidateVotes%
Virginia House of Delegates, 26th district
November 23, 2024[37]Democratic primaryJJ Singh74540.5%
Sam Nandi42523.1%
Ibraheem Samirah32317.6%
Arben Istrefi28015.2%
Lakesha Gorham-McDurfee663.6%

Personal life

Samirah lives in Sterling, Virginia.[22]

References

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