In Context Briefing — Targeting Dissent: Mahmoud Khalil and the Criminalization of Palestine Advocacy

Across the United States, retaliation against support for Palestinian rights is escalating. Universities are suspending students, the government is revoking visas, employers are firing workers, and bad faith actors are smearing and defunding entire organizations. Government bodies and corporations are weaponizing immigration and national-security frameworks to silence dissent, using political speech as a pretext for surveillance, harassment, and deportation.

At the center of this crackdown is the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian Columbia University graduate who faces deportation after being targeted for his political speech. Mahmoud’s story underscores a growing pattern: authorities have been criminalizing Palestine advocacy to deter debate and isolate those who speak out. Yet, it also highlights the urgent need for solidarity, solid legal strategies, and public pressure to safeguard the right to organize. On September 30, a federal judge struck down federal tactics that sought to deport pro-Palestinian students on First Amendment grounds—a rare rebuke that underscores both the scale of repression and the stakes for those directly affected.

This In Context Briefing—Targeting Dissent: Mahmoud Khalil and the Criminalization of Palestine Advocacy—will examine how U.S. institutions are entrenching repression, and what strategies communities are deploying in response.

Join us on Wednesday, October 22 at 12:00 pm ET / 7:00 pm Jerusalem time for this critical conversation moderated by Jen Marlowe (Donkeysaddle Projects and Just Vision), featuring a live dialogue with Mahmoud Khalil, alongside legal experts Diala Shamas (Center for Constitutional Rights) and Radhika Sainath (Palestine Legal).

This event is sponsored by Just Vision, Donkeysaddle Projects, the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), and Jewish Currents.