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Judge Orders Anti-Israel Columbia Agitator Be Allowed Private Calls With Lawyers
Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, US, June 1, 2024. Photo: Jeenah Moon via Reuters Connect
A US judge on Wednesday ordered that a detained leading anti-Israel agitator at Columbia University in New York be allowed to have private phone calls with lawyers challenging his arrest by immigration authorities.
Mahmoud Khalil’s case has become a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s pledge to deport pro-Hamas college activists. Khalil’s lawyers argue the arrest violated his right to free speech under the US Constitution’s First Amendment and have urged his release.
At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, Khalil’s lawyer Ramzi Kassem said his client had been allowed just one call with his legal team from immigration detention in Louisiana. Kassem said the call was cut off prematurely and was on a line recorded and monitored by the government.
US District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that Khalil, 29, and his lawyers should have one phone call today and another one tomorrow covered by attorney-client privilege, meaning the government would not have access to their conversation.
Furman on Monday temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation.
Furman said the calls would help Khalil’s lawyers prepare a revised petition challenging the constitutionality of his arrest on Saturday evening by Department of Homeland Security agents outside his university residence in Manhattan.
“Mr. Khalil was identified, targeted, detained and is being processed for deportation on account of his advocacy for Palestinian rights,” Kassem said in court.
Brandon Waterman, a lawyer for the government, said he had not been aware of any issues with Khalil’s access to his lawyers but would look into it.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the courthouse in lower Manhattan, holding signs reading “Release Mahmoud Khalil” and chanting “Down, down with deportation, up, up with liberation.”
Khalil, who is of Palestinian origin, came to the US on a student visa in 2022 and became a permanent resident last year.
He became a prominent member of Columbia’s protest movement against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza that followed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
US President Donald Trump has alleged on social media that Khalil supported Hamas, but his administration has not charged him with a crime and has not provided any evidence to show Khalil’s alleged support for the Palestinian terrorist group.
The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, has the authority to order Khalil released from detention if he finds his rights were violated, according to legal experts.
Even if Khalil is released, deportation proceedings could nonetheless continue in a separate immigration court. Khalil would have the right to appeal an unfavorable ruling, a potentially lengthy process.
PROTECTED FREE SPEECH TEST
The case could ultimately test where immigration courts draw the line between protected free speech and alleged support for US-designated terrorist groups.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday told reporters that Secretary of State Marco Rubio could revoke Khalil’s green card if he determined his presence in the United States was contrary to the country’s national security and foreign policy interests.
Outside the courthouse on Wednesday, Khalil’s lawyer Kassem told reporters that Leavitt’s comment appeared to be a reference to a rarely-used legal provision that was not meant to silence dissent.
“It is not intended to be used to silence pro-Palestinian speech or any other speech that the government doesn’t like,” Kassem said.
The Trump administration says anti-Israel protests on college campuses, including Columbia, have included support for Hamas and antisemitic harassment of Jewish students. Student protest organizers say criticism of Israel is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism.
Khalil’s lawyers have also asked Furman to order that he be returned to New York, after they say authorities transported him to immigration detention in Louisiana.
At the hearing, government lawyer Waterman said they planned to challenge Furman’s authority to decide the case. Waterman said Khalil’s petition should have been filed in Louisiana or in New Jersey, where he was initially brought after his arrest.
After the hearing, one of Khalil’s lawyers, Shezza Abboushi Dallal, read a statement from Khalil’s wife, a US citizen who is eight months pregnant and did not wish to be named.
“So many who know and love Mahmoud have come together, refusing to stay silent,” the statement read. “Their support is a testament to his character and to the deep injustice of what is being done to him.”
The post Judge Orders Anti-Israel Columbia Agitator Be Allowed Private Calls With Lawyers first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Signals Willingness to Scale Back Uranium Enrichment to Ease Tensions
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iran may be prepared to significantly reduce its uranium enrichment levels in a bid to stave off renewed UN sanctions and limit the risk of further strikes by Israel and the United States, according to a report published Sunday in The Telegraph.
Citing Iranian sources, the paper said Tehran is considering lowering enrichment from 60% to 20%.
The move is reportedly being championed by Ali Larijani, the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who is holding talks with regime leaders.
“Larijani is trying to convince the system to reduce the level of enrichment in order to avoid further war,” a senior Iranian official told the paper.
The proposal, however, faces stiff resistance from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has long opposed concessions on the nuclear program. Still, the report suggests Iran’s leadership may be open to greater flexibility, including the possibility of reviving engagement with Western powers.
Last month, i24NEWS reported exclusively that a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to travel to Iran. The team of technical experts would seek to resume monitoring of nuclear sites, inspections that have been heavily restricted in recent years.
The development comes amid mounting regional tensions and could represent a critical turning point in the long-running nuclear standoff.
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Major Brush Fire Erupts Near Jerusalem, Evacuations Underway
A view of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train seen over the HaArazim Valley (“Valley of Cedars”) just outside of Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2018. Photo: Yossi Zamir/Flash90.
i24 News – A large brush fire broke out Sunday in the Cedars Valley area, near Route 1 and the Motza interchange, prompting an emergency response from Jerusalem district fire services. Several water-bombing planes were dispatched, and authorities have declared a “fire emergency.”
As a precaution, residents of Mevaseret Zion are being evacuated. Access to the town from Route 1 has already been blocked, and officials are weighing a full closure of the major highway.
Fire crews from the Ha’uma station are on site working to contain the flames, while motorists in the area are urged to heed traffic updates and follow instructions from emergency services.
Eight firefighting aircraft are currently operating above the blaze in support of ground teams. The fire comes amid one of the hottest, driest summers on record, with conditions fueling a series of destructive wildfires across the country.
Officials warn the situation remains critical, as the blaze threatens a vital transportation corridor leading into Jerusalem.
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Egyptian Army Reinforces Its Eastern Border Ahead of Israel’s Gaza City Takeover
A man sits against a wall with a graffiti of a heart with the word “Gaza”, near the Rafah border crossing, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
i24 News – The Egyptian army has reinforced its presence on the eastern border, fearing the humanitarian and military repercussions of the IDF’s takeover of Gaza City as authorities remain on high alert, Qatari media outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported Sunday.
According to the report, Egyptian authorities estimate that Israeli military operations will force roughly one million Gazans to flee Gaza City toward the southern part of the Strip, creating the opportunity for Israel to attempt to deliberately push these refugees toward the Egyptian border.
Cairo fears that Israel will force Gazans south — only as a temporary stop — before taking advantage of the chaos of the operation to push them further towards the Rafah crossing, bordering Egypt’s North Sinai.
According to the report, Egypt intends to send two messages with its reinforced military presence on the border: the first a stand against an attempted crossing breach, and the second against the idea of a humanitarian solution at the expense of its territory.