Columbia University professor Azmat Khan said Sunday Anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil is a highly respected member of the school community after being detained by immigration and customs law enforcement officers in early March.
Khan told MSNBC host: “Imagine when people cover Mahmoud Khalil, a person so precious and beloved in the Colombian community,” Khan told MSNBC host. Ayman Mohyeldin. “It’s really hard for them.”
Khalil, a former Colombian graduate and permanent resident of U.S. law, was detained by federal immigration authorities and could expel his support for Hamas after the Trump administration’s crackdown on anti-Israel protests.
Palestinian protester Mahmoud Khalil in column article
Columbia University professor Azmat Khan said anti-Israel organizer Mahmoud Khalil was a highly respected member of the school community after ice detention. (MSNBC)
When asked about Colombian students fearing arrest or public criticism after detention, Khan, who was a reporter from The Times, said they had “full reason” to be afraid.
“For example, some of our students who make incredible reports are on some of the same sites, such as those that follow Mahmoud Khalil and many other students who only target reporting,” the professor said.
“For example, the Canary mission has followed a report-only student journalist,” Khan said. “And if you look at the page, you’ll find it’s just talking about them shooting in the camp and not participating in any part of the protest. But they’re on some of the same sites. So, seeing this is in the fall that takes place in November and December. That’s already happening. It’s already happening.
Mahmoud Khalil allegedly played an important role in Columbia’s protests against Israel. (Ted Shaffrey, file)
Khalil wrote an op-ed after being detained, who once condemned Columbia University’s arrest.
Column Accuse the agency of “laying the foundation for my kidnapping.” He continued to compare the president Donald TrumpThe anti-Israel protesters’ indifference to Colombia’s Palestinians lists other students “robbed by the state”.
He also accused the Colombian executive of “public hysteria about anti-Semitism without mentioning the murder of thousands of Palestinians under bombs made with your money.”
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Anders Hagstrom and Alec Schemmel of Fox News contributed to the report.
