Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil Returns to Columbia University for the First Time Since His Detention
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil returned to Columbia University after his detention, criticizing the university's handling of protests amid the Trump administration's campaign.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent figures in the protests against the Israeli genocide war on Gaza in the United States, returned to Columbia University on Tuesday, marking his first appearance since his arrest in 2025 as part of the campaign launched by President Donald Trump’s administration against pro-Palestinian activists.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse, the 31-year-old described his attendance at an event related to the launch of his new memoir, which drew around 100 people, as a “victory,” accusing Columbia University of seeking to “silence and erase any Palestinian voices on campus.”
Khalil strongly criticized the prestigious university for its handling of student demonstrations in 2024, and for allowing the New York Police Department to violently disperse a sit-in on its Manhattan campus in an operation marked by excessive brutality.
He also accused the university of failing to protect him from harassment that preceded his arrest by U.S. immigration authorities, during which he was detained for three months without any criminal charges being brought against him, before his release in June 2025.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Khalil said, “Columbia University could have been a model for how to manage difficult dialogues on campus, how to handle protests like these, and how to uphold human rights and international law.”
In response, a spokesperson for Columbia University stated that the university is “committed to fostering serious discussion, scholarly research, and respectful dialogue among diverse viewpoints.”
The spokesperson added in a statement reported by U.S. media, “Columbia University supports the right of faculty members to organize academic events. Furthermore, inviting someone to speak does not mean the university endorses the views of that speaker.”
