Demonstrators from a Jewish group filled the lobby of Trump Tower on Thursday to denounce the immigration arrest of a Columbia University activist who helped lead student protests on the Manhattan campus against Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Jewish Voice for Peace protesters, who wore red shirts reading “Jews say stop arming Israel” and carried banners reading “Opposing fascism is a Jewish tradition” and “Fight Nazis not students,” chanted “Bring Mahmoud home now!”
Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident who is married to an American citizen and who hasn’t been charged with breaking any laws, was arrested outside his New York City apartment on Saturday and faces deportation. President Donald Trump has said Khalil’s arrest was the first “of many to come” and vowed on social media to deport students who he said engage in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.”
Police were staged inside and outside the Fifth Avenue building ahead of the protest.
Khalil’s supporters say his arrest is an attack on free speech and have staged protests elsewhere in the city and around the country. Hundreds demonstrated Wednesday outside a Manhattan courthouse during a brief hearing on his case.
