Latest news with #Davidai
Middle East Eye
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Palestinian Columbia University student detained by ICE during citizenship ceremony
A second Palestinian student at Columbia University was picked up and placed into detention by immigration agents on Monday during his naturalisation ceremony. Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder who moved from the occupied West Bank to the US ten years ago, was at the US immigration services offices in Colchester, Vermont, when he was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, The Intercept reported. Mahdawi is being targeted for his pro-Palestine activism on campus despite the fact that he has not been active since the spring of 2024. On Monday, Mahdawi's lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of his detention. They say the government has violated his statutory and due process rights by punishing him for speech related to Israel and Palestine. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters He is facing deportation under a government provision that says they have 'reasonable ground to believe' the individual's presence in the country hurts the government's foreign policy interests. According to The Intercept, Mahdawi had played a leading role in the Columbia protests but stepped back to build "bridges with Jewish and Israeli communities on campus". Mahdawi had reportedly asked Columbia professor Shai Davidai, a pro-Israel professor who has been accused of harassing pro-Palestine students at Columbia University, to get coffee. The two met, but Mahdawi later said that Davidai left in the middle of the coffee. Less than two months after the meeting, Davidai posted a video of Mahdawi to Twitter in a thread characterising him and other protest organisers as "antisemitic" and "pro-Hamas". Since then, Mahdawi has been doxxed by Zionist groups like Canary Mission and Betar. Mahdawi has been sheltering in place and living in fear for more than three weeks since ICE picked up fellow activist Mahmoud Khalil. He said he asked Columbia for help with a safe place, but they refused. Immigration authorities scheduled the citizenship test at the Colchester citizenship and immigration services office but took Mahdawi into custody when he arrived. Now, Mahdawi is facing an order to deport him to the occupied West Bank, where attacks on Palestinians have been escalating from the Israeli military and Israeli settlers. Mahdawi joins others like Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, and Alireza Doroudi, who are all being held for their involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on campuses.
The Intercept
14-04-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
Palestinian Student Leader Was Called In for Citizenship Interview — Then Arrested by ICE
Mohsen K. Mahdawi arrived at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Burlington, Vermont, on Monday. A Palestinian student at Columbia University, he hoped that, after 10 years in the U.S., he would pass the test to become a naturalized citizen. Instead, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him and began the process to deport him to the occupied West Bank. Mahdawi, a some leader of the campus protest movement against Israel's war on Gaza, becamed yet another green card holder arrested and facing removal. 'Mohsen Mahdawi was unlawfully detained today for no reason other than his Palestinian identity,' Mahdawi's attorney Luna Droubi said in a statement to The Intercept. '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.' '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.' Mahdawi was one of the leaders of the pro-Palestine student protest movement until Spring 2024, when he said he took a step back from the movement to focus on building bridges with Jewish and Israeli communities on campus. In December 2023, Mahdawi asked Columbia professor Shai Davidai, a controversial pro-Israel figure on at the school, to get coffee. The two met, but Mahdawi later said that Davidai left in the middle of the coffee. Less than two months after the meeting, Davidai posted a video of Mahdawi to Twitter in a thread characterizing him and other protest organizers as anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas. (Davidai did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) Since then, Mahdawi became a focus of attacks from a member of Congress and Zionist groups like Canary Mission and Betar. With Donald Trump's inauguration, groups like Betar and Canary Mission have been at the center of a push to place scrutiny on foreign students active in campus pro-Palestine movements; at Columbia, one behind-the-scenes push came from a WhatsApp group that included alumni and faculty at Columbia who organized to get the students deported. Davidai was a member of the group, though there's no indication he participated in talk of deportation, whether about Mahdawi or other students. (Davidai did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) Even before his friend and fellow Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by immigration authorities, Mahdawi asked university administrators to help him find a safe place to live so he would not be taken by ICE agents, according to emails reviewed by The Intercept. The school did nothing in response, Mahdawi said. After ICE abducted Khalil last month, Mahdawi sheltered in place for more than three weeks for fear of being picked up himself. Instead of taking him off the street, however, immigration authorities scheduled the citizenship test at the Burlington USCIS office and took Mahdawi into custody when he arrived. Now, Mahdawi is facing an order to deport him to the occupied West Bank, where escalating attacks from both the Israeli military and Jewish settlers have led to increased casualties among Palestinians. 'It's kind of a death sentence,' Mahdawi said. 'Because my people are being killed unjustly in an indiscriminate way.' 'I will be either living or imprisoned or killed by the apartheid system.' His fears arise from the toll Israel's attacks and occupation have taken on Mahdawi's family. Growing up in the West Bank, his community has suffered losses for years. He said he lost his childhood best friend, his uncle, two cousins, several of whom were killed in the second intifada, a Palestinian uprising against occupation that lasted from 2000 to 2005. More recently, he lost two cousins in the growing violence in the occupied Palestinian territories since the October 7 attacks, Mahdawi said. His aunts and uncles' homes have been destroyed and his father's store was blown up as part of the violence in the West Bank city of Jenin. Now, he is the ninth Columbia student targeted for deportation as hundreds across the country have had their visas revoked under the Trump administration's sweeps and abductions of immigrants. Mahdawi is one of the few cases of legal permanent residents arrested, meaning he did not have a student visa revoked, but is facing an effort by the government to cancel his green card. Other permanentresidents have faced deportation over allegations that they violated immigration law or had their residency revoked over pro-Palestinian views. 'This is the outcome,' Mahdawi said. 'I will be either living or imprisoned or killed by the apartheid system.' Read our complete coverage In December 2023, Mahdawi appeared in a '60 Minutes' segment focused on antisemitism on college campuses. Mahdawi criticized how Columbia's then-President Minouche Shafik had responded to the October 7 attacks, saying that she was ignoring the plight of Palestinians. And, a past leader of Columbia's Palestinian student union, Mahdawi said pro-Israel factions on campus wanted to silence those protesting genocide. In the wake of the interview, he became the subject of increasing surveillance and attacks from Zionist groups. He said he also started receiving death threats. Canary Mission and Stop AntiSemitism on campus, two Zionist groups that have become hubs for doxxing and bullying of pro-Palestinian activists, created profiles for him. The profiles claimed that Mahdawi, whose activist work centered on finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts between Israelis, American Jews, and Palestinians, was anti-Israel and pro-Hamas. By late 2024, Mahdawi was visited at his apartment by an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force official. Mahdawi said he is still unsure of the purpose of the FBI visit. Mahdawi said Columbia refused to provide him with video footage of his apartment complex capturing the visit. (Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) Then, in early 2025 Trump formalized his plans to deport pro-Palestine student protesters with an executive order. Shortly after, Betar, which said it sent a list of students it wanted deported to the White House, posted about Mahdawi. So did the group Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus at ColumbiaU, which is run by a member of the pro-Israel WhatsApp group that worked to deport students. The group posted multiple times about Mahdawi and other organizers, tagging law enforcement agencies. Shortly afterward, Mahdawi went into hiding. In response to a final email last month pleading with the school to move him to a safe location, a high-ranking official in the Columbia administration wrote, 'The University's outside counsel will be in touch with your counsel.' Mahdawi's lawyer said Columbia responded and said they could not give him safe campus housing where he would be better insulated from ICE. Last month, Betar posted about Mahdawi again. The group said Mahdawi was part of a group of students Betar was confident would 'shortly be deported.' Earlier this month, Mahdawi received an email from USCIS notifying him that he was scheduled to conduct an interview to obtain his U.S. citizenship. He said he was expecting the interview to take place in December or January, in line with the expected timeline to move from his green card status through the naturalization process. When he received the email, however, he was worried it might be a trap. In anticipation of the worst, Mahdawi contacted his representatives in the Congress, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Peter Welch, D-Vt., as well as Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., to make them aware of his situation and ask them to intervene if possible. Read Our Complete Coverage Mahdawi said he spoke personally with Welch, who said his office would be on standby pending what happened with Mahdawi's case. Offices for Sanders and Balint said they would remain on standby pending news of Mahdawi's status after the interview. (Welch, Sanders, and Balint did not immediately respond to requests for comment.) Mahdawi said the government's efforts to chill speech went beyond issues related to Israel or Palestine. 'That's why they're crushing universities now, it's not only about Palestine,' Mahdawi said. As for his hopes of becoming a U.S. citizen one day and continuing his master's degree studies at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, Mahdawi's future is unclear. 'People ask me why I would want to become a citizen of a country committing genocide,' Mahdawi said. 'I have faith in the people living in this country. The government is not the people.'
Fox News
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed' Newsletter: A professor stands up to Columbia's tolerance of hate
Fox News' "Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world. IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER: - Columbia professor slams university leadership as anti-Israel agitators wreak havoc- 13 American universities slapped with 'F' grade on campus antisemitism- NY gov demands state university take down 'Palestinian Studies' job posting TOP STORY: One brave Columbia University professor has had enough of the anti-Jewish hatred that he says the school's leadership has allowed to go unchecked. After recent protests at the school's Barnard College, Shai Davidai told Fox News Digital the faculty has created a monster. "This is the consequence of 20 years of indoctrination," Davidai told Fox News Digital, "We have indoctrinated students and they are not the problem. The problem has always been the professors who have been indoctrinating them." VIDEO: Anti-Israel protesters who wave flags of terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah could face jail time in New York should lawmakers pass a proposed bill. The office of New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who is a Democrat, confirmed to Fox News that he is introducing the Stand Against Flags of Enemy Terrorists Act. WATCH HERE: WORST OF THE WORST: Thirteen universities across the United States received "F" grades in the 2025 Campus Antisemitism Report Card released Monday by the Anti-Defamation League. The survey of 135 schools – which is meant to provide information "about the current state of antisemitism on campus and how universities and colleges are responding," according to the ADL – grades them from A to F based on 30 different criteria. Click here to find out if you're sending one tuition money. PROBLEMATIC POSTING: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered City University of New York (CUNY) to spike a "Palestinian Studies" professorship posting that would have allegedly peddled antisemitic and anti-Israel discourse with topics like "apartheid," "settler colonialism," "genocide" and more. The governor ordered the school to conduct a thorough review of the position to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted. DEAL WITH DEVILS: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended U.S. efforts to negotiate with Hamas to release American hostages during a briefing on Wednesday. There are currently five hostages with U.S. citizenship in Gaza, though most are feared dead. Leavitt said Israel was "consulted on this matter," and that President Donald Trump believes in putting forth "good faith effort[s] to do what's right for the American people." GUEST EDITORIAL: Retired FBI agent David Zimmerman reminds readers that 45 Americans were kidnapped and 12 murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Zimmerman, an active-duty FBI agent stationed in Israel from 2020 to 2024, writes that he is "shocked that most Americans do not realize the extent of the suffering our own citizens endured and continue to endure at the hands of Hamas." QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Hate doesn't go away on its own. Extremism doesn't go away on its own. If you don't deal with it, it stays around." Columbia associate professor Shai Davidai. - Looking for more on this topic? Find more antisemitism coverage from Fox News here. - Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe to additional newsletters from Fox News here. - Want live updates? Get the Fox News app here
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Columbia professor slams university leadership as anti-Israel agitators wreak havoc at Barnard
Anti-Israel protests broke out at Barnard College last week, and Columbia associate professor Shai Davidai is calling out students and faculty members. "These protests that we saw two days ago, the violent taking over of a hall at Barnard, it's one of the same protests that started on Oct. 12, 2023," Davidai told Fox News Digital. "Hate doesn't go away on its own. Extremism doesn't go away on its own. If you don't deal with it, it stays around." The most recent protests were in response to the expulsion of two students who allegedly barged into a Columbia University classroom in January and threw flyers filled with hateful and antisemitic rhetoric. Barnard Student Demands Action After Pro-hamas Protest Turns Violent, Calls Out School's 'Pathetic' Response The professor teaching the course, Avi Shilon, told the Times of Israel that he invited the protesters to join the class, but they refused and continued shouting instead. Following the Barnard students' expulsion, more than 50 anti-Israel agitators took over a building on Barnard's campus, echoing last year's takeover of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. Read On The Fox News App When speaking to Fox News Digital, Davidai alleged that while the protests were physically taking place at Barnard, they were organized by a Columbia-sanctioned and funded organization. However, Columbia University disputes this claim and says the group was not university-sanctioned. "This is the consequence of 20 years of indoctrination," Davidai told Fox News Digital. "We have indoctrinated students and they are not the problem. The problem has always been the professors who have been indoctrinating them." However, Davidai says he has heard from Jewish and non-Jewish students alike that they are fed up with the protests. "They see no accountability, and they're just sick of it," Davidai said. "I got emails from parents saying, 'What are we paying $90,000 for? So, then Barnard can go and clean up the mess of the students who got to walk scot-free?' It doesn't make any sense." Anti-israel Protesters Allegedly Assault Employee During Building Takeover At Barnard College In New York City Davidai says he has tried to engage with other faculty on the issues, but that in one case, a student intervened and pulled the other faculty member out of the conversation. He says there are "radical students" who are telling faculty "what to do and what to say." In addition to the faculty, Davidai sees a problem with Columbia's leadership. He says that former Columbia University President Minouche Shafik "did not know what she was going into" and "was a coward." He places heavier blame on Interim President Katrina Armstrong, who he says is "incompetent." Davidai does not think all hope is lost for Columbia and believes there is a way for the university to turn things around. "You kick out the indoctrinaters, you kick out the professors [who] openly support Hamas and other U.S.-designated terror organizations. You kick out the students that blatantly support massacres of Jews and Israelis, and you make room for professors who want to teach and for students who want to learn." Barnard College did not immediately responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. Barnard College and Columbia University have a storied history. Initially, Columbia was an all-male university and Barnard, an all-female school, became part of the Columbia system in 1900. The two still share academic resources and both institutions have classes that are available to Columbia and Barnard students. On Feb. 26, Columbia tweeted out a statement saying that "the disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct." Immediately following the class disruption in January, interim President Armstrong condemned the incident in a statement, saying that the agitators' actions went against the university's rules. Additionally, Columbia suspended an alleged participant with ties to the university and launched an investigation. Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury published an op-ed on the situation on Monday in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled, "When Student Protest Goes Too Far." "This disruption was not designed to expand thinking or advance civil discourse. Instead, it was a calculated act of intimidation, with the disruptors taunting and loudly speaking over the professor, distributing antisemitic flyers, and refusing to join the discussion even when the professor graciously invited them to sit in on the class," Rosenbury writes. She went on to say the protesters actions were "utterly at odds with our mission."Original article source: Columbia professor slams university leadership as anti-Israel agitators wreak havoc at Barnard
Fox News
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Columbia professor slams university leadership as anti-Israel agitators wreak havoc at Barnard
Anti-Israel protests broke out at Barnard College last week, and Columbia associate professor Shai Davidai is calling out students and faculty members. "These protests that we saw two days ago, the violent taking over of a hall at Barnard, it's one of the same protests that started on Oct. 12, 2023," Davidai told Fox News Digital. "Hate doesn't go away on its own. Extremism doesn't go away on its own. If you don't deal with it, it stays around." The most recent protests were in response to the expulsion of two students who allegedly barged into a Columbia University classroom in January and threw flyers filled with hateful and antisemitic rhetoric. The professor teaching the course, Avi Shilon, told the Times of Israel that he invited the protesters to join the class, but they refused and continued shouting instead. Following the Barnard students' expulsion, more than 50 anti-Israel agitators took over a building on Barnard's campus, echoing last year's takeover of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. When speaking to Fox News Digital, Davidai pointed out that while the protests were physically taking place at Barnard, they were organized by a Columbia-sanctioned and funded organization. "This is the consequence of 20 years of indoctrination," Davidai told Fox News Digital. "We have indoctrinated students and they are not the problem. The problem has always been the professors who have been indoctrinating them." However, Davidai says he has heard from Jewish and non-Jewish students alike that they are fed up with the protests. "They see no accountability, and they're just sick of it," Davidai said. "I got emails from parents saying, 'What are we paying $90,000 for? So, then Barnard can go and clean up the mess of the students who got to walk scot-free?' It doesn't make any sense." Davidai says he has tried to engage with other faculty on the issues, but that in one case, a student intervened and pulled the other faculty member out of the conversation. He says there are "radical students" who are telling faculty "what to do and what to say." In addition to the faculty, Davidai sees a problem with Columbia's leadership. He says that former Columbia University President Minouche Shafik "did not know what she was going into" and "was a coward." He places heavier blame on Interim President Katrina Armstrong, who he says is "incompetent." Davidai does not think all hope is lost for Columbia and believes there is a way for the university to turn things around. "You kick out the indoctrinaters, you kick out the professors [who] openly support Hamas and other U.S.-designated terror organizations. You kick out the students that blatantly support massacres of Jews and Israelis, and you make room for professors who want to teach and for students who want to learn." Neither Barnard College nor Columbia University immediately responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. Barnard College and Columbia University have a storied history. Initially, Columbia was an all-male university and Barnard, an all-female school, became part of the Columbia system in 1900. The two still share academic resources and both institutions have classes that are available to Columbia and Barnard students. On Feb. 26, Columbia tweeted out a statement saying that "the disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct." Immediately following the class disruption in January, interim President Armstrong condemned the incident in a statement, saying that the agitators' actions went against the university's rules. Additionally, Columbia suspended an alleged participant with ties to the university and launched an investigation. Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury published an op-ed on the situation on Monday in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled, "When Student Protest Goes Too Far." "This disruption was not designed to expand thinking or advance civil discourse. Instead, it was a calculated act of intimidation, with the disruptors taunting and loudly speaking over the professor, distributing antisemitic flyers, and refusing to join the discussion even when the professor graciously invited them to sit in on the class," Rosenbury writes. She went on to say the protesters actions were "utterly at odds with our mission."
