Mahmoud Khalil Freed as Anti-War Movement in U.S. Celebrates and Grows

Mahmoud Khalil is free! After spending 104 days unjustly held in an ICE detention center in Jena, Louisiana, he was reunited with his wife Noor, newborn son Deen and community over the weekend. At a press conference and rally at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine near Columbia University on Sunday, he said “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,” as he promised to continue his work in the movement for Palestine.

His release came after District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz ordered for him to be freed on Friday, the latest move in a long legal battle during which the Trump administration has tried to have him held indefinitely or just deported. The government has already appealed the decision, but the fact that Mahmoud Khalil is free is a legal and political victory that cannot be understated. 

On this episode, we also discuss developments in the quickly-unfolding situation between the U.S. and its imperialist outpost Israel on the one hand and Iran, after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.