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‘Haven’t received a single call’: Mahmoud Khalil slams Columbia's ‘hypocrisy,’ joins rally outside university | Video
Mahmoud Khalil has criticised Columbia University for its silence on his arrest shortly after being released from immigration custody.
Mahmoud Khalil has criticised Columbia University for its silence on his arrest shortly after being released from immigration custody. Khalil, a graduate student of the university, flew back to the New York area Saturday, June 21, after spending 104 days in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana.
Meanwhile, videos on social media claimed to show Khalil joining a rally outside Columbia University soon after his release.
Take a look:
‘The hypocrisy of Columbia University’
Khalil made his recent remarks while speaking to the media and supporters on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, just a few blocks from Columbia. He said Columbia did not allow him to host the news conference at the university.
“It’s often hard to find patience in ICE detention. The center is crowded with hundreds of people who are told that their existence is illegal, and not one of us knows when we can go free,” Khalil said, according to NBC News.
“I found myself literally scratching this into my bunk bed and looking at it as I fell asleep and as I woke up. I find myself repeating, repeating it even now, knowing that I have won in a small way by being free — by being free today,” he added.
Khalil previously compared Columbia University’s administration to Nazi collaborators in an incendiary op-ed published by the school newspaper. He accused Columbia of laying the “groundwork for my abduction” and also alleged that the Morningside Heights institution suppressed “student dissent under the auspices of combating antisemitism.”’
Now, in his recent remarks, Khalil called out Columbia’s “hypocrisy.” “I must call the hypocrisy of Columbia University, a university that just two weeks ago said that they want to protect their international students. Why? While over 100 [days] later, I haven’t received a single call from this university,” he said.
“While I’m grateful to be here with you all, I must say that this is only the beginning of a longer fight towards justice. I want everyone to understand that my being here today is sweet, but it’s not a victory,” he further said, adding that the Trump administration initiated a “wave of repression” with his detention, which was “intended to silence the movement for Palestinian liberation” and “scare people into silence.”
Khalil joined hundreds of supporters on a short march following the conference. They were escorted by New York police.
