(RNS) — The arrest of a former Columbia University graduate student who had a leading role on campus criticizing Israel’s war in Gaza has sparked sharp divisions within the American Jewish community.
Mahmoud Khalil, an activist in last year’s pro-Palestinian campus protests that led to tent encampments, was arrested by U.S. immigration agents on Saturday (March 8) as part of the Trump administration’s pledge to deport anti-Israel student activists. Khalil, who is of Palestinian descent but grew up in Syria, is a permanent resident of the United States.
His arrest was hailed by some sectors of the American Jewish community, including the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights antisemitism. The ADL released a statement applauding the “swift and severe consequences for those who provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations.” Khalil has not been charged with material or any other support to a terrorist organization.
Likewise, American Jewish Committee, a global Jewish advocacy organization, said in a March 11 statement it is “appalled by the views and actions” of Khalil and, “should the government prove its case in a prompt and public legal proceeding, and Khalil is afforded due process, then deportation will be fully justified.”
Other Jews were outraged by the arrest, which they viewed as a blatant violation of civil liberties including free speech and the …