Bahim (00:00):
Knows well, following 9/11, when we were in the courts trying to get people out of [inaudible 00:00:09]. One thing that's different now is the [inaudible 00:00:12] infrastructure is so much stronger, and everyone out here on the street knows that we cannot hide in the [inaudible 00:00:19] of repression. We will be fighting in the courts and fighting in the streets to bring Mahmoud home and prevent this level of repression from spreading to many others as the administration has threatened to do.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Why not argue the American court today, sir? The judge invited repeatedly.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Thank you, Bahim. Now we'll hear from Professor Joseph Howley, an associate professor at Columbia University.
Joseph Howley (00:50):
Good morning. My name is Joseph Howley, H-O-W-L-E-Y. I'm an associate professor of classics at Columbia University.
(00:58)
The last time I spoke at a press conference was April 18. That day police officers in crowd control gear entered our campus for the first time in decades and carried out dozens of students who were peacefully and quietly in camps on one of the enclosed lawns in front of our library, threatening no one. As I watched this unfold, I was asked to speak at an emergency press conference alongside Mahmoud, who had just been out to negotiate on behalf of the encampment.
(01:26)
It is always dangerous to speak in public for Palestinian rights, safety, and freedom with your face uncovered and your name declared. Be sure you will be harassed, docked, terrorized. People will try to get you fired from your job. For speaking here I will receive a new round of death threats, slander, complaints to my employer. When I step down from giving my remarks to protect me, [inaudible 00:01:50] attempts to misrepresent my words.
(01:52)
Mahmoud, as a student negotiator, took these same risks and many more. Mahmoud is a man of decency, honor, and kindness. He has distinguished himself in his work as an advocate and negotiator, as committed to peaceful resolution of difficult situations. He is a consummate diplomat in his disposition, his character.
(02:10)
What the Trump government is doing to Mahmoud is obscene, unreasonable, intolerable, unconstitutional. So why do they think [inaudible 00:02:20]? The Trump administration [inaudible 00:02:22] Americans will happily look the other way as one more Palestinian is victimized here on American soil. They're betting that if you hear Mahmoud and the word Palestinian, the parts of you that make you a thinking and rational person will switch off, and you will believe first about him, and you will turn a blind eye to these grave violations of his rights.
(02:42)
After what I've seen over the last year and a half, I'm not sure they are wrong. Anti-Palestinian groups have spent all year casually letting [inaudible 00:02:50] dangerous accusations [inaudible 00:02:51] on the community have repeated them.
(02:55)
Don't like Safiya? Call them a terrorist and call the cops. Don't like their [inaudible 00:03:00]? anti-Semitic and get them expelled. Don't like that your Jewish [inaudible 00:03:05] has a chutzpah to free Palestine? Report him for Jew hatred to a university task force. Don't like seeing a broad and smoke movement of courageous young people standing together against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza? Call your friends in the government and send the Feds to their door.
(03:20)
As an educator… As an educator, it disgusts me that anyone who wants to be taken seriously in association with a university would deal so ignorantly with language and truth. But more than that, I am ashamed as a Jewish person that this slander has found currency in some parts of my own community in service of the racist and anti-Semitic Trump agenda.
(03:40)
Trump's claim that this atrocity combats anti-Semitism is insulting. We will not take lectures on anti-Semitism from segregationists and neo-Nazis.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Thank you. Thank you.
Joseph Howley (03:53):
We will not allow a white supremacist president and his party to [inaudible 00:03:58] the mantle of Jewish safety as they shred the Constitution and spin outlandish legal theories to justify the suppression of dissent and the brutalization of those who oppose war and apartheid.
(04:09)
One of the hideous forms of prejudice toward Jews is the dual allegiance, which suggests that we Jews, because of our ethnicity or religion, have secret political commitments at odds with the communities we live in, that we are not to be trusted, that you believe the worst about us. When Donald Trump sneers at globalists, this is what he means.
(04:30)
And when I see people unquestioningly trafficking in the wildest assertions about Mahmoud, just because he is Palestinian, I hear the exact same kind of prejudice that drove generations of my own family from their homes in Europe. Anyone who spread the lies about Mahmoud that resulted in his detention should be ashamed. And if you find yourself believing whatever someone tells you about Mahmoud, just because he is Palestinian or because he spoke up against a merciless war that you somehow still support, I can only implore you to scrutinize your own soul.
Speaker 5 (05:01):
Yes.
Joseph Howley (05:03):
Why are we here? Because we want our friend back. But we are also here because what happens to Mahmoud could happen to any of us. They can strip the green card from a lawful permanent resident. They can do whatever they want to a citizen. If you're waiting for permission to think it's a crisis, here it is. What has been done to Mahmoud goes far beyond whether you agree with the cause of Palestinian liberation.
(05:26)
Where exactly are we in the poem that begins, "When they came for the communists, I did not speak out"? Well, they've already come from the asylum seekers, the migrant families. Now they've come for Mahmoud Khalil. It's not a very long poem. So how far down the list do you think you are?
(05:43)
I've been proud to stand as a Jew beside Mahmoud Khalil and call for a free and just and peaceful Palestine. It is my honor now to stand before you and call on what remains of the United States government to do the right thing and free Mahmoud Khalil. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Next, Joshua Dratel from the law firm representing Mahmoud.
Joshua Dratel (06:15):
This is on behalf of Amy Greer in our firm, who has handled this case and will continue to handle this case, but unfortunately could not be here today.
(06:27)
The principles at issue in this case are of course very important. I'll lay that out here and in court. But important as those principles are, commitment to the case, commitment to the case that Amy's committed to this case is also about the human being, Mahmoud Khalil. He is a person who is loved, who is respected, who has earned that through his conduct and his commitment to his community and to all of us.
(07:02)
We thank the people beyond the cameras who are here for their support.
(07:13)
We appreciate it. Mahmoud appreciates it. And ultimately, the rest of this country and the world will appreciate it. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Thank you. Next we'll have Professor Nadia Abu El-Haj, Professor of Anthropology at Barnard and Columbia.
Nadia Abu El-Haj (07:39):
My name is Nadia Abu El-Haj. Last name is A-B-U E-L-H-A-J.
(07:45)
So how did we get here? How did we get to the point where Mahmoud Khalil, a mild-mannered and thoughtful Palestinian political activist, a legal permanent resident of the US, who has been charged, let alone convicted of a crime, can be picked up outside his home and shipped to a Louisiana Detention Center? Secretary of State and the President can name him as the first of many who will be rounded up and deported for what is in fact political effect.
(08:19)
This is a witch hunt [inaudible 00:08:23] the McCarthy era. Then, the archaic threat to America was the alleged Communist Jew. Now, it is the allegedly anti-Semitic Palestinian. But lest the Democratic Party feel self-satisfied as the Republican administration takes sledgehammer to our basic constitutional rights, this did not begin two months ago.
(08:47)
Beginning in the fall of [inaudible 00:08:50], most Democrats in local, state, and national levels joined in the mind of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. They labeled the movement anti-Semitism, as operating in support of terrorism, ignoring the reality on the ground, which these students were responding to. The urgency that you saw, the rage even, of student demonstrators last year was driven by a commitment to the urgency of the situation, the need to stop the genocide in Gaza.
(09:25)
The Democrats, however, crawled into bed with MAGA Republicans quite clearly in Congressional hearings that began in the fall of 2023, when university presidents began to be called before the committee, as if the hearings were actually about anti-Semitism. The party of Charlottesville, the party of Nazi salutes and support for Germany's neo-Nazi party, the AfD, is not concerned with anti-Semitism. And no Democrat that has aligned with them can be taken seriously on that front.
(10:01)
Insofar as you, our Democratic politicians, continue to refer to Mahmoud Khalil's speech as abhorrent, presumably while defending his right to say what he does, that is presumably while defending his right to be abhorrent, you are part of the problem. Stop demonizing student activists who are demonstrating to save Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank from ethnic cleansing and total annihilation. Stop replicating the crime of McCarthyism, and here I mean not just the criminalization of certain forms of political speech. More fundamentally, I mean stop replicating the crime of demonizing an entire group of people as dangerous, as a threat, as abhorrent even. Then, it was Jews. Now, it's Palestinians.
(11:02)
Free Mahmoud now and stop the witch hunt against other students.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Thank you, Professor. Next I'd like to bring up Shezza Aboushi Dallal, one of the staff attorneys up here, who will be reading a statement by Mahmoud's wife.
Shezza Aboushi Dallal (11:32):
Hi, everyone. My name is Shezza Aboushi Dallal. That's S-H-E-Z-Z-A A-B-O-U-S-H-I D-A-L-L-A-L.
(11:37)
I'm a staff attorney with the Clear Conscience and one of Mahmoud Khalil's [inaudible 00:11:48] . I will be reading a statement on behalf of Mahmoud Khalil's wife, who does not wish to be named.
(11:52)
"My husband was kidnapped from our home, and it's shameful that the United States government continues to hold him because he stood for the rights and lives of his people. I demand his immediate release and return to our family. His disappearance has devastated our lives. Every day without him is filled with uncertainty, not just for me, but for our entire family and community. Loved ones are struggling with the pain and fear of the sudden absence.
(12:29)
"And yet, we are not alone. So many who know and love Mahmoud have come together, refusing to stay silent. Their support is a testament to his character and to the deep justice of what is being done to him."
(12:49)
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Thank you, Shezza. We're going to bring up some of Mahmoud's legal team to answer questions from all. I will be calling on people and letting you [inaudible 00:13:10].
(13:12)
Okay. Question.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
How long can they hold him? [inaudible 00:13:20].
(13:13)
How long can they hold him?
Joshua Dratel (13:41):
We are seeking to bring him back. We're seeking to have him released, and we're going to do that, whether it's in federal court or immigration court. There are limits to how long a person can be held. Frankly, that's our [inaudible 00:13:51]. We are going to ask for him to be released as expeditiously as possible in any court that will hear us.
Speaker 9 (14:01):
Why couldn't that be done today? And could you just respond to the government's claim that this is about his views not being [inaudible 00:14:07]
Joshua Dratel (14:10):
Yeah, the government has basically admitted that they're punishing him for his views that are contrary to the government's views, and that's just an obvious piece of authoritarian logic that we cannot tolerate as long as we live in a democracy. It's totally unacceptable for him and for others.
Speaker 10 (14:32):
Why?
Joshua Dratel (14:38):
The government is claiming, and this is really a question of the government. The government is claiming that because at the time he filed a habeas corpus petition in this court, he was already in Jersey. They had already moved him as part of the plan, again, to move him a thousand miles away to Louisiana, to take him away from his children, from his lawyers, from his support network.
(15:05)
Of course, the goa of all of this [inaudible 00:15:10] speak in defense of how similar lives and lives. Clearly, as you can see by the thousands of people who have come out today and this past week, that has backfired. That's how it is. They're not now in any way, shape or form [inaudible 00:15:27]. This idea that [inaudible 00:15:28] lives is somehow driven and supported mainly by foreigners and non-citizens, it's largely, completely false. It is an American movement, and of course there are non-citizens and green card holders as well, but it is mainstream, as you can see from the diverse crowd that is not just [inaudible 00:15:47] but campuses and colleges from the past year.
Speaker 10 (15:47):
The government says that [inaudible 00:15:58] that he organized protests [inaudible 00:16:00]. Can you address that?
Joshua Dratel (15:59):
The government's position is that Mahmoud has views that are similar to Hamas, namely, that he believe in human rights and on [inaudible 00:16:21] genocide. [inaudible 00:16:23]
(16:23)
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security said he had been arrested and potentially removed. It's their disagreement with his view, not any remotely scintilla of security threat that's driving this. Again, it's oppression. It's not about security.
Speaker 9 (16:47):
What would you say though-
Joshua Dratel (16:48):
I would add that whenever I spoke personally, that certainly is the government's position, [inaudible 00:16:59] that the White House spokesperson says a lot of things that are unsubstantiated, not just on this case. I would pay attention to what's put forward in the court.
Speaker 9 (17:08):
[inaudible 00:17:09] how he's doing, how he's been in Louisiana?
Joshua Dratel (17:26):
As you can imagine, these are very difficult circumstances. Mahmoud and his wife, the last thing they expected for something like this to happen. They had reason to expect stability. He's a lawful permanent resident. She's a US citizen. They're about to welcome their first child next month. That's what they were thinking about, not this scenario where he's abducted [inaudible 00:17:40] a thousand miles away. [inaudible 00:17:50]
(17:39)
Of course, he is a fighter. He's been a prominent advocate for Palestinian rights. He's in good spirits in these circumstances and he looks forward [inaudible 00:18:00]
(17:57)
The questions about next step, we will be filing amended [inaudible 00:18:00] colleagues in the ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union [inaudible 00:18:23] substantially and more detailed nature of his detention and will do an expedited schedule to have the court steer his demands, his intentions on lawful mental abuse. We will also be this court proper [inaudible 00:18:50] over the next week.
Speaker 9 (18:50):
…standing legally why he's being [inaudible 00:18:56]
Joshua Dratel (19:31):
There is a provision that basically says that if the Secretary of State determines [inaudible 00:19:27] a citizen [inaudible 00:19:31] is a serious risk of that person be prosecuted [inaudible 00:19:48] and Congress to be silenced
(19:36)
In other words, [inaudible 00:19:50] For example, [inaudible 00:19:55] folks, people who have interfered with democracy according to officials, those are where you see that long. It is not intended to silence or control any other government for that reason. [inaudible 00:20:17] The precedent that the government wants it to set, federal court orders, and you already know just by that it's not having the effect that the government wants it to have on people solve down.
Speaker 9 (20:39):
What would you say to students?
Joshua Dratel (20:39):
The question [inaudible 00:20:41] that he sent an email to the President of Columbia University the night before he was arrested and detained to basically put university on notice that he's being unfairly [inaudible 00:20:56] by the university and that he worried about detention by ICE and actions by an activist for his life and well-being. That is accurate. He did send that the head of Columbia University. And I think it's an important question. This is the university that has been talking about its duty to protect students and keep them safe. But in a scenario where numerous students are being reported on Columbia's campus, the media has been effectively disappeared. Again, this property, the university is demarcated.
Speaker 9 (21:49):
Student Board and one more question please.
(21:49)
Student Board and one more question, please.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
[inaudible 00:21:50] friend here, people, his teachers can come to me or Jen.
(21:50)
I want to thank you all for coming. I want to thank all the people who are out there on campus. I want to remind everyone that the family has asked for privacy at this time. Thank you.
Jen Nessel (22:44):
Morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for this press conference. My name is Jen Nessel, and I'm with the Center for Constitutional Rights. Today you'll hear from clients and attorneys in the case, defense…