Columbia’s gates were closed to ID holders the week of University President Minouche Shafik’s testimony in Congress. (Jackie Hajdenberg)
(JTA) — The American Jewish Committee called for Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian protester arrested by ICE at Columbia University, to be afforded due process before facing deportation.
The statement said the group was “appalled” by Khalil’s views and actions but that “there is a difference between protected speech, even when deplorable, and statements and actions that justify deportation.”
The statement by the AJC, one of the country’s largest and oldest Jewish organizations, and one that historically has taken pains to be nonpartisan, comes after two days during which Khalil’s arrest has divided Jewish groups.
Liberal and progressive groups, including a number of pro-Israel organizations and leaders, have expressed alarm at immigration authorities seizing a lawful resident of the United States on the basis of his activism.
Groups on the right, meanwhile, in addition to the Anti-Defamation League, have largely cheered the arrest of a campus activist whose actions they say abetted Hamas.
In a statement shortly after news of the arrest broke, the ADL advocated “swift and severe consequences for those who provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations.” While saying that any immigration crackdown should happen “in alignment with required due process protections,” it thanked President Donald Trump for “bold” actions against antisemitism and expressed hope that the arrest “serves as a deterrent to others who might consider breaking the law.”
Federal authorities have not said what law, if any, they believe Khalil broke.
The AJC statement condemns Khalil’s activism — he is a leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which has endorsed violent resistance — and called on universities to protect Jewish students. But it notably does not praise his arrest — and stopped well short of suggesting that his actions broke the law.
“American Jewish Committee (AJC) is appalled by the views and actions of Mahmoud Khalil. Universities have an obligation to ensure that antisemitic behavior such as his does not lead to intimidation and harassment of Jewish students,” the statement said.
“U.S. law is clear regarding the necessary predicate that justifies deportation. Under that law, there is a difference between protected speech, even when deplorable, and statements and actions that justify deportation,” it added. “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.”
While many Jewish groups, large and small, have weighed in on the arrest, not all have: The Jewish Federations of North America, which condemned last year’s anti-Israel campus protests, said it does not have a statement on the arrest.
Hillel International, and the Hillel chapter at Columbia, have likewise not responded to repeated requests for comment.
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