Mohsen Mahdawi Arrest Sends Message “Peacemakers Are Not Welcome”: Israeli American Columbia Student

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

As the Trump administration ramps up its attack on international students, we end today’s show here in New York. Yesterday, a major protest in Union Square with Jewish New Yorkers and Israelis calling for the release of the detained Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested in Vermont when he appeared for what he was told would be a naturalization test. He had previously expressed fears about the appointment, which came earlier than usual in the typical naturalization process, and he feared it could end up being a trap, so he wrote to all three legislators in Vermont: Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch, as well as the Congressmember Becca Balint.

This is New York comptroller, mayoral candidate Brad Lander, speaking at the Union Square protest organized by Israelis for Peace.

BRAD LANDER: This is somebody who grew up in a refugee camp in the West Bank, saw a friend be killed by an Israeli soldier, and yet, rather than turn to vengeance and pick up a rock or a gun, turned to Buddhism and becomes a peace activist and comes here and goes into synagogues speaking about empathy. So, his friend, Josh Drill, was here today to speak about him and humanize him. And I thought it would be really important to come here, because when I heard about what happened to Mohsen, I was mad generically, but to get to know him a little through Josh, now I’m mad specifically. And that’s the kind of solidarity we need a lot more of.

AMY GOODMAN: And this is the Israeli American Columbia student who Brad Lander referenced, Josh Drill, speaking at Sunday’s protest.

JOSH DRILL: We cannot allow these deportations to happen. They threaten our future. Only together can we stop these deportations. Only together can we stop the bloodshed. And only together can we end the military occupation and create a reality of peace.

AMY GOODMAN: And Josh Drill joins us now, an Israeli American peace builder pursuing a Master of Science in strategic communications at Columbia University, co-wrote a piece for The Forward headlined “As Israelis in New York, we’re horrified by ICE’s detention of one of our Palestinian partners in peace.”

Josh, we just have three minutes, and I know you have a meeting right after the show. Tell us who and how you know who Mohsen Mahdawi is.

JOSH DRILL: I met Mohsen through a brave group of Palestinian and Israeli students at Columbia. We met for the past months weekly, having intense discussions, sharing our personal traumas, healing together, envisioning a peaceful future and what our place in that is. And it’s really important for me to say that these deportations do not keep anyone safe. They endanger us. They endanger us because they separate Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers who are trying to change the reality. We need to continue having conversations. It’s a matter of life and death.

AMY GOODMAN: And how did you come to know Mohsen, and also the fact that he’s head of Columbia’s Buddhist Association?

JOSH DRILL: Yeah, so, through the group, I came to know Mohsen. And from that, we began having weekly conversations and meetings. I remember specifically in one of our first meetings, Mohsen presented to the group a 20-, 30-slide PowerPoint presentation about his vision for peace, slide through slide empathetically and thoughtfully explaining a way forward. And this is at a time when he already knew that he was under threat of deportation. Mohsen, we’re speaking about a deeply empathetic prison. We’re speaking about someone who understands that the peaceful resolution is a nonviolent resolution, is reconciliation, is collective healing. And I think that this deportation and the threat of it sends a chilling message that peacemakers are not welcome here in America.

AMY GOODMAN: You are a student at Columbia University, like Mohsen Mahdawi. What are you calling on Columbia University to do?

JOSH DRILL: I think it’s clear that they need to take a stand and not allow their students to be deported. They need to take a public position against these deportations. And they need to make sure that Mohsen next month can graduate with his bachelor’s degree. And this fall, Mohsen is supposed to start his master’s degree in international relations. The university needs to do everything in their power to make that happen.

AMY GOODMAN: You write in your piece that the targeting of Mohsen is especially absurd, given his prominent voice in advocating for dialogue and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. You believe he was targeted, clearly. In this final minute, what is your demand even beyond Columbia?

JOSH DRILL: Release Mohsen. Stop these deportations. Allow this new generation to continue having conversations, to continue meeting so that we can build a collective future for ourselves and for our children. What Mohsen represents is new. And new can be scary for some people. But new, on both sides of this conflict, is exactly what Israelis and Palestinians need to end the conflict and to create peace.

AMY GOODMAN: Josh Drill, we want to thank you for being with us. I know you’re going to a peace conference in Geneva today. Safe flying. Josh is a student pursuing a Master of Science in strategic communications at Columbia University. We’ll link to your piece in The Forward, “As Israelis in New York, we’re horrified by ICE’s detention of one of our Palestinian partners in peace.”

This is Democracy Now! To see our video and audio podcasts, to sign up for our daily digest, go to democracynow.org. Democracy Now! is produced with Mike Burke, Renée Feltz, Deena Guzder, Messiah Rhodes, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Tami Woronoff. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us for another edition of Democracy Now!