Michigan Governor-elect Jocelyn Benson has appointed a Nation of Islam leader who has repeatedly promoted antisemitic rhetoric and defended the group’s controversial leader, Louis Farrakhan, to serve on her gubernatorial transition team — months after an antisemitism coalition removed him from an advisory panel over those same affiliations.
Benson, a Democrat who defeated Republican Rep. John James in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election, selected Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad to serve on her 15-member transition council. The team also includes Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, and several other prominent Michigan Democrats.
Muhammad announced his appointment in a Facebook post, saying that the transition team would help prepare Benson’s policy priorities before she takes office. “With a Democratic trifecta, the opportunity to deliver resources and opportunities are increased,” he wrote.
But Muhammad’s appointment comes despite a record of statements and associations that have drawn condemnation from Jewish organizations. He is a “student minister” in the Nation of Islam and a self-described disciple of Farrakhan — who has made a number of troubling an...