First, being opposed to Israel’s policy of destroying Gaza and now the West Bank is NOT the same as being antisemitic. Antisemitism is one form of racism in which a person or group of people are hated because of their Jewish religion or heritage. It has nothing to do with the nation state of Israel. Being against the Israeli foreign policy of decimating Palestinian settlements is NOT antisemitism, nor is wanting a Palestinian free state. Trump: “On December 11, 2019, I issued Executive Order 13899, my first Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism, finding that students, in particular, faced anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on university and college campuses.” On January 29, 2025, he added some specifics to that, such as: “c) The Attorney General is encouraged to employ appropriate civil-rights enforcement authorities, such as 18 U.S.C. 241, to combat anti-Semitism.” See https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-semitism/ to read the most recent measures.
It would be wonderful if antisemitism, all forms of racism, white supremacy, Islamophobia, and all the other hates festering in this country could be banished with an Executive Order. I would be most in favor of that, but it’s not at all a possible reality. But the issue of what the Israeli government was doing (and continues to do) in taking land deeded to Palestinians after being removed from what is now Israel and what Hamas did in retaliation is not antisemitism. After Hamas militarily took over the government of Gaza in 2007, Israel enforced severe movement restrictions on entering or leaving Gaza. Many Palestinians could no longer work, goods were restricted; it was like life in a large concentration camp. For details of life for Palestinians under Israeli occupation, see https://www.ochaopt.org/50Stories/ a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Hamas is an authoritarian pseudo-government of Gaza as well as a terrorist organization. The majority of the Palestinian people are not in favor of Hamas. Although after the inhumane attacks by Israel some are reverting back, unfortunately, to the Hamas vision of revenge, which they first executed in a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. That vision is from the ancient Jewish rule of an “eye for an eye,” quoted from the Old Testament, Book of Exodus 21:23–27, that provoked Israel into its intent to destroy Gaza and its people. Two wrongs never made a right. I credit my Mom with that truth. Romans 12:17 is close.
Mahmoud Khalil is not a member of Hamas, nor is he a Palestinian citizen; he is a legal American citizen, who was illegally and unconstitutionally arrested. In fact, his actual arrest demonstrates the illegitimate aspect of it. According to his wife, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents followed them then confronted him outside their apartment as he and his wife returned home after dinner with friends, they initially stated they were “acting on a State Department order to revoke his student visa.” “She said agents told her to go to the couple’s apartment upstairs or face arrest as she continued to stay by her husband’s side. ‘We were not shown any warrant and the ICE officers hung up the phone on our lawyer,’ she said.'” His wife provided ICE with documentation about his Green Card. They then allegedly said they were revoking that, too. “Agents whisked him away in an unmarked vehicle, she said, as she struggled to process what happened.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-demand-release-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-judge-bl-rcna195786
He is being held in The Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, Louisiana, a federal immigration detention center run by the private contractor, the GEO Group, and was previously a juvenile detention center, until ICE took it over in 2007. There are 9 such centers in Louisiana in rural, difficult to access areas, intentionally making contact by lawyers and family problematic.
There is no indication that Khalil supported Hamas, although he was definitely active in the anti-war protests at Columbia University when he was a graduate student there last year. He is to receive his degree this May. Anti-war and pro-Hamas are not the same thing.
To paraphrase Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany, who, in spite of early right-wing leanings, came to criticize Hitler and is most famous for the following quote that I am paraphrasing for today. For the original, click here: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists
First they came for the socialists, because I was a Democrat and not a socialist, I did nothing.
Then they came for the anti-war demonstrators, and although I was anti-war, because I was not a demonstrator, I did nothing.
Then they came for the Trans and LGBTQ+ people, and although I felt sorry for that, I was none of those, so I did nothing.
Then they came for the news sources that didn’t agree with them, and although that shuttered much of my news, I found other sources, so I did nothing.
Then they came for the lawyers who were fighting them and the judges who followed the law and their oaths, although that was frightening, I was neither a lawyer (and sometimes I pondered that maybe Shakespeare was right) nor a judge, so I did nothing.
Then they came for me, but there was no one left to stand up for me.
Always, be wary of where you get your information. For example, in 2023, an unidentified student who was interviewed by NPR, stated: “As an Israeli Jewish person, I feel that it is absolutely crucial for me to stand with Muslim friends and peers, especially when they are being accused of antisemitism simply for criticizing my government.” That is the crux of the matter. Antisemitism is NOT the same as criticizing the Israeli government. That is a true, factual statement. In spite of the last and current administration’s blind support of Israel, I suspect there are still some Jewish people who feel and act on such sentiments.
But if you choose to read Hillel International’s version, you’ll probably be outraged at what is happening to Jewish students. Hillel is a Jewish campus organization in tight support of the Israeli government, but also provides social networking for Jewish students. Of course, there are Jewish and other students who believe any support of Palestine translates into support for Hamas, but that is NOT true. Hamas and Palestine are not coequal concepts nor entities. Hillel knows that, but they have their blinders, as do many of the Palestinian demonstrators, but that does not make them terrorists, it only means they are acting on their First Amendment rights. Unfortunately, I am sure there are some Jewish students, who find the strong support for Palestine frightening and unsettling for them, who have been taught from birth that they are the enemy, just as vice-versa for Palestinians.
Unless there is substantive proof that Khalil is a terrorist, which at this point I do not believe exists, I stand up for the rights of Mahmoud Khalil, and oppose his incarceration and, most definitely, his deportation! I wish for him to be free and with his wife when their expected child is born in a month.