March 11, 2025 (EIRNS)—One day before he was arrested, Palestinian-American student Mahmoud Khalil sent an email dated March 7 to Columbia interim president Katrina Armstrong, requesting protection from harassment and possible deportation, according to a detailed report on Zeteo.
Khalil’s email stated, “Since yesterday, I have been subjected to a vicious, coordinated, and dehumanizing doxxing campaign led by Columbia affiliates [assistant professor] Shai Davidai and [Columbia student] David [Jonah] Lederer who, among others, have labeled me a security threat and called for my deportation. … Their attacks have incited a wave of hate, including calls for my deportation and death threats. I have outlined the wider context below, yet Columbia has not provided any meaningful support or resources in response to this escalating threat.” Zeteo adds, “In online posts, Davidai had called Khalil a ‘terrorist supporter’ and suggested he should be deported, tagging Secretary of State Marco Rubio.” Khalil wrote, “I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urgently need legal support, and I urge you to intervene and provide the necessary protections to prevent further harm.”
In a Jan. 31 email, Khalil had urged school administrators “to take immediate action to protect international students at Columbia facing severe and pervasive doxing, discriminatory harassment, and very possibly deportation in retaliation for the lawful exercising of their rights to freedom of speech, expression, and association … rights provided for in the U.S. Constitution and Columbia’s Code of Conduct.” In this email, Khalil cited posts from Betar which he said were threatening, and had fabricated statements from Khalil that he insists he never made.
