Activists say the City University of New York is escalating its repression against Palestine activism by suspending a student leader and terminating the positions of four faculty members who have been active in protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“The wave of repression that the Trump administration initiated with my detention was intended to silence the movement for Palestinian liberation,” Mahmoud Khalil told a rally outside Columbia shortly after his release. “But they completely failed.”
The Trump administration has imprisoned several students over their activism for Palestine. While many of their names are known to us, one Columbia University student’s story has gone underreported. Her name is Leqaa Kordia, and this is her story.
Student protestors across the country are adapting their strategies to Trump’s crackdown on the pro-Palestine movement, but it’s safe to say the activism is not slowing down.
A federal judge in Vermont ordered Mohsen Mahdawi be released from detention and compared the administration’s crackdown on dissent to the Red Scare. Upon his release, Mahdawi declared, “To President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you.”
Last Friday, the White House abruptly reversed course and restored the visas for hundreds of foreign students. It’s one sign the resistance to the Trump administration is working.
Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, and Alireza Doroudi are all being held in ICE detention in Jena, Louisiana. Jena represents the nexus of white supremacy, prison profiteering, and state repression. But its history also shows us the path of resistance.
Mondoweiss spoke with political consultant Peter Feld about the declining support for Israel across the political spectrum and age groups, and the far-reaching effects it’s having on U.S. politics, from local mayoral races all the way up to Trump.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies raided multiple homes in Michigan, reportedly targeting a number of student activists connected to Gaza solidarity protests at the University of Michigan.
The Middle East Studies Association’s Laurie Brand speaks to Mondoweiss about the history of attacks on the field of Middle East Studies, the current designs of the Trump administration, and the capitulation of universities.