By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK – In the early afternoon on April 2, Columbia University was the site where four Jewish pro-Palestinian demonstrators chained themselves to the gate near St. Paul’s Chapel to support detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a 2024 Columbia University graduate. Meanwhile, later Wednesday afternoon, a new group of protesters chained themselves to the Earl Hall gates in opposition to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nabbing of Khalil from his home, in front of his pregnant wife on March 8 of this year. The protesters stated: “We will be staying here until they meet the bare minimum demands, which is to tell us which trustee is responsible for informing on students and telling ICE confidential information which is leading to their kidnapping.” The students in a Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) release read: “We refuse to accept the ongoing genocide in Gaza, carried out through the investments of our trustees, as normal,” adding – “We refuse to accept the kidnapping of our friends as the new normal.” Also announced in an Instagram post was an emergency rally outside the chapel gates at 6:30 p.m. by Columbia University Alumni for Palestine.
Meanwhile, new groups of protesters throughout the afternoon, were coming and going with shirts that read “Jews say ICE off campus,” “Release Mahmoud Khalil Now” and a banner that read “Accountability Now.” Protesters walking by the gates outside St. Paul’s Chapel sat outside those gates singing “your people are my people.” A university spokesperson in a statement to
Spectator, wrote that the protest “constitutes violations of the Rules of University Conduct,” adding: “Individuals complied with the demand for identification but refused to leave the area.” The spokesperson also said: “The chains were removed by Columbia’s Public Safety and the individuals were escorted off campus. We will follow the process established in the Rules of University Conduct for enforcing violations. Our focus is on preserving our core mission to teach, create and advance knowledge while ensuring a safe campus for our community.”
Columbia University’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace cited a March 10th report from the Forward (a Jewish publication) in which Ross Glick, a former leader of Betar, a self-described “bold Zionist movement” said he visited Washington D.C. to meet with officials about Khalil. The Forward’s report stated that Glick had discussed Khalil with Congress members and that “some members of Columbia’s board reported Khalil to officials.” Khalil whose wife is eight months pregnant and an American citizen witnessed his being taken from their home. He is a lawful permanent resident and according to credible news reports, was asked to assist as the mediator for pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Khalil has no criminal record and has no record of links to any terrorist organization and was not charged with any crime. Khalil’s lawyer successfully petitioned for him not to be removed from New York state but ICE against a judge’s order, whisked Khalil away to a detention center in Louisiana where he remains. In a post from the organization, it read: “We demand to know the names of the Columbia trustees who facilitated the abduction of our beloved friend by collaborating with the Trump administration.” The post added: “We will not leave until our demand is met.”
