A group of Columbia University students on Wednesday afternoon chained themselves to locked campus gates to protest the arrest of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil.
“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 Columbia chapter of Jewish Voices for Peace and the Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition wrote on social media.
The protesters, who were escorted off campus after public safety officers cut the chains, hung banners from the gates at Amsterdam Ave. and 117th St. calling to “Free Palestine” and “Free Mahmoud Now.” The entrance has been closed for months as administrators have sought to get campus protests under control, though Columbia is facing a lawsuit over its closure to the public.
They continued their demonstration outside the campus gates. They unfurled a third banner from a bridge over Amsterdam Ave., saying “Free Mahmoud Khalil, Name the Trustees,” while dozens more students gathered.
Khalil, a green card holder, served as a negotiator and spokesman for the pro-Palestinian campus encampments last spring. Last month, federal immigration authorities detained him in the lobby of his university-owned housing.
In an article in The Forward, a Jewish media outlet, a pro-Israel activist alleged that some members of Columbia’s Board of Trustees had reported Khalil to the federal government before his arrest. The activist, Ross Glick, led the far-right group Betar USA until February, during which it claimed to have a “deportation list” of international students involved in campus protests.
In a statement, the university said, “We are monitoring a disruption at the gate of St. Paul’s Chapel involving approximately four individuals chained to a gate, which constitutes violations of the Rules of University Conduct. Individuals complied with the demand for identification but refused to leave the area. 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.”
On Tuesday, a federal judge in New Jersey said Khalil’s case can remain in the tristate area instead of Louisiana, where Khalil is currently being held.
