New York police officers were quick to line the plaza, establishing boundaries for the event. Arrests were also reported.? BREAKING: Protesters Gather in NYC Demanding Release of Mahmoud Khalil
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 10, 2025
Crowds are assembling at Foley Square, NYC, calling for the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate. DHS agents abducted him from his home on March 8, and he is now… pic.twitter.com/Jeb1wJvCJL
Among the protesters were students from area City University of New York campuses, who gathered in front of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Protesters joined to chant “free, free Palestine,” “ICE off our campus now,” “Release Mahmoud Khalil now” and “From the river to the sea”. Speaking from the stage, Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York ACLU, demanded that Khalil be released immediately, calling his arrest "a gross violation of his constitutional rights." Professors at Columbia and Barnard College organized a news conference after the protest. Marianne Hirsch, Columbia professor emerita of English and comparative literature, questioned the Trump administration's motive in Khalil's arrest, noting that he participated in protests in support of Palestinian people in Gaza, not in support of Hamas.NOW: Arrests as Pro-Palestine Protesters march through NYC against ICE Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil former student of Columbia University, who's green card has been revoked.
— Oliya Scootercaster ? (@ScooterCasterNY) March 10, 2025
Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2 @FreedomNTV [email protected] to license pic.twitter.com/GA6yUhmNs8
"Criticism of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza can't be equated with anti-Jewish sentiment," said Hirsch, who said she was raised by Holocaust survivors. "Pro-Palestinian speech and activism does not mean a lack of safety for Jews anywhere." “This is a time to be ever more outraged because what happened to Mahmoud can happen to anyone," Rabbi Jason Garrett Klein said. Speakers described Khalil as a political prisoner who helped negotiate the conclusion of pro-Palestinian rallies at Columbia, including a campus encampment. "Now we are facing a horrifying reality that our own student, a member of the Columbia community, has become a political prisoner here in the United States," said Michael Farris, a Columbia mathematics professor.Breaking | Protests in NYC Demand Mahmoud Khalil’s Release.
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 10, 2025
Crowds in New York City are marching to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate detained by ICE. Protesters say they will not stop speaking out for Palestine’s freedom and against Israeli apartheid. pic.twitter.com/gppUUkR5vW
