Mahmoud Khalil’s Letter – a Masterpiece in Obfuscation

Mahmoud Khalil’s letter addressed to Columbia, his alma mater, appeared in Columbia Daily Spectator, the student newspaper of Columbia, on April 4. It is well written and constructed. It is aimed at readership that already supports Khalil and at people who are not closely affiliated with Columbia and/or do not follow events and life at Columbia.

It starts with an attack on Columbia, his protector and defender, claiming that Columbia is “an institution that laid the groundwork for his abduction”. And he continues that “the intimidation and kidnapping of international students who stand for Palestine has only accelerated” and led to revocation of their student visas and other consequences. Apparently, that reminds him of “the brutality of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria”. I am just waiting for somebody to discover a mass grave on the green space on Columbia’s Morningside campus. He accuses the last two Columbia presidents, Minouche Shafik and Katrina Armstrong of “manufacturing public hysteria about antisemitism without once mentioning the tens of thousands of Palestinians murdered under bombs” made in USA. He goes on and on complaining about suppression of student dissent and support of Palestinians by Columbia. Nobody who did not follow the events on Columbia would suspect that all these accusations of injustice and oppression are baseless. For most part, the chaos and violence on Columbia grounds were initiated and propagated by pro-Palestinian groups, with Mahmoud Khalil as one of its leaders with very little interference by Columbia leadership. He presents himself as a victim and peaceful person advocating for justice. He would never do anything violent or anything smelling of antisemitism. On the contrary, he turns everything regarding antisemitism on its head: he sees the Jewish “students who publicize manufactured safety concerns regarding antisemitism as the same ones who repeatedly show up at events looking for provocation” and reporting names to authorities. He goes after Tel Aviv University as a nefarious actor because of the dual degree program of TAU with Columbia instead of praising it as an endeavor possibly leading to projects in which Americans, Israelis and Palestinians can work together towards peace in the Middle East. In addition, he attacks pro-Israel students as participating in the genocide in Gaza by serving in IDF and by collaborating with right-wing Congress people. Nowhere you would read in his tirade about the October 7 massacre which was praised be the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) group as a revolutionary act. Khalil is one of its major activists, if not one of its leaders. CUAD is the group initiating and leading the protests, chaos and violence at Columbia after October 7.

Reading this article, one would not know that pro-Palestinian demonstrators have participated in any kind of disruption of campus life (including harassment and blocking access to campus aimed at Jewish students), not to speak in any kind of violence, including destruction of property, and threatening janitors trying to do their job. On the contrary, he is quite recalcitrant accusing the Columbia Board of Trustees of snatching power by appointing one of its trustees, Claire Shipman, as another interim president of Columbia. Khalil understand this as a major betrayal not only of Palestinians and their aspirations, but also as a betrayal of progressive movement. The last paragraph is revealing of what Khalil’s actual goal is. He identifies with “Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat who said, “I did all this because I believe in the Palestinian cause. I believe this land is ours, and it has been the highest honor of my life to die defending it and serving its people.” By now, all of us should know what Mahmoud Khalil fights for – disappearance of Israel.