A Palestinian student enrolled at Columbia University who was taken into custody by ICE in Vermont had previously taken a lead role in aggressive anti-Israel demonstrations and allegedly used inflammatory language to threaten Jewish students, according to officials at the State Department who spoke with The New York Post.
Mohsen Mahdawi, originally from the West Bank, was reportedly detained by immigration enforcement agents during a citizenship application appointment earlier this week, his lawyer confirmed.
“Mahdawi, through his leadership and involvement in disruptive protests at Columbia University, has engaged in antisemitic conduct through leading pro-Palestinian protests and calling for Israel’s destruction,” a high-ranking State Department official stated.
According to that official, Mahdawi’s social media posts denouncing Israel provide only a partial picture of his actions and ideology.
“Mahdawi played an active role in fall 2024 student protests at Columbia University, instructing protesters to physically push a small group of pro-Israel students, events that university officials later acknowledged as threatening rhetoric and intimidation,” the source added.
The official further claimed that Mahdawi’s conduct included harsh anti-Jewish speech, such as labeling IDF soldiers as terrorists and using a megaphone to shout at Jewish individuals and Israel supporters.
Footage of Mahdawi captured during a campus demonstration showed him addressing a crowd in front of a banner reading “By any means necessary,” as aired in a December 2023 segment of CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
In that same interview, Mahdawi expressed sympathy for Hamas’ deadly October 7 assault on Israel, in which over 1,200 civilians were killed, and characterized Israel’s retaliatory actions as “a genocide.”
“I did not say that I justify what Hamas has done, I said I can empathize. To empathize is to understand the root cause and not look at any event or situation in a vacuum.”
Mahdawi served as co-president of Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), an organization that publicly praised the October 7 attacks, referring to them as “an unprecedented historic moment for the Palestinians in Gaza.”
Columbia University ultimately suspended the SJP chapter in November 2023, citing repeated violations of school protest regulations.
A recent lawsuit filed by families of individuals still held hostage by Hamas alleged that SJP was aware in advance of the terrorist group’s attack, accusing it of acting as “Hamas’ American propaganda arm.” The suit highlighted an Instagram post reading “we are back!!” that the group allegedly published moments before the massacre began.
On Monday, video shared online appeared to show Mahdawi being led away in handcuffs by federal agents and placed into a plain vehicle.
In comments to the Intercept, Mahdawi described his arrest as “kind of a death sentence.”
According to the outlet, Mahdawi, who had ties to Mahmoud Khalil—another Columbia student detained over anti-Israel activity—had been in hiding and had even requested assistance from the university in finding a safe place to stay amid fears he would be targeted by President Trump’s sweeping deportation efforts.
His attorney, Luna Droubi, condemned the arrest, telling the Intercept, “Mahdawi was unlawfully detained today for no reason other than his Palestinian identity.”
“He came to this country hoping to be free to speak out about the atrocities he has witnessed, only to be punished for such speech,” she said.
{Matzav.com}