‘Martyrs’: Michigan Dems nominate Hezbollah-praising candidate after ousting Jewish regent

By Fox News · Fox News

A University of Michigan Board of Regents member was ousted after Michigan Democrats selected a candidate who shared social media posts praising Hezbollah as the party's nominee. Amir Makled, a trial lawyer, bested incumbent Regent Jordan Acker, who is Jewish, for the Democratic Party's nomination at the state party's convention over the weekend, sparking criticism from a former leader of the state's Democratic Party. More than a week before Michigan's Democratic Convention, the Detroit News reported that Makled had shared and later deleted posts on X praising Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Abu Ali Khalil, who were both killed in Israeli airstrikes. In both posts Makled shared, Nasrallah and Khalil are dubbed "martyrs." UC DAVIS PROFESSOR WHO POSTED VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST 'ZIONISTS' KEEPS JOB AFTER DISCIPLINE The Democratic nominee also shared a now-deleted post from Candace Owens in which she called Israelis "demons" who "lie, steal, cheat, murder and blackmail." Fox News Digital reached out to Makled for comment. Brandon Dillon, the former head of Michigan's Democratic Party, penned an opinion piece in the Detroit News criticizing Makled's candidacy that was published just days before Makled won the party's nomination. Dillon said Makled is not a Democrat and that his social media behavior reflects "a pattern of extremism and bigotry." UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER ADDRESSES HUNDREDS OF 'WANTED' POSTERS FOR JEWISH FACULTY MEMBERS POSTED AROUND CAMPUS "These are not isolated missteps or comments taken out of context," Dillon wrote in the Detroit New s. "They reflect a broader pattern of poor judgment that should raise serious concern." In his acceptance speech for the party's nomination, Makled gave a nod to students involved in anti-Israel protests that formed on the University of Michigan's campus in the wake of the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel. "To these students, the students who spoke up, the students who organized, the students who refused…