He stood up against genocide.  And for this, he was ambushed at his home, abducted, and arrested. Arrested without cause. Arrested without a warrant. By plainclothes officers who refused to give their names. Just handcuffed and shoved into the back of a car, while his wife — eight mon ths pregnant — watches and tries to understand what’s happening. This is not a scene from some dark chapter of a distant past filled with black-and-white photos of bygone dictatorships. This happened here, in the United States of America, in March of this year. It’s happening here right now.  Mahmoud Khalil was a graduate student at Columbia University last year when he led protests against Israel’s US-backed Occupation of historic Palestine and genocidal slaughter of Palestinians.  But now, speaking out carries a high price. And free speech is no longer so free. Mahmoud Khalil is a U.S. resident, born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. But Trump officials say they’ve striped him of his Green Card, and they’re holding him in an ICE jail in Louisiana… far from his home in New York. Far from his wife. Unable to communicate with his lawyers or the outside world for days after his illegal abduction. But Mahmoud Khalil is, still, not silent. And he is not alone.  As he stood up for the Palestinians facing Israeli bombs and the barrels of their guns, others are standing up for Khalil. People have rallied for his freedom. Hundreds. Thousands. From New York City to Boston. Phoenix to Miami. North Carolina to Oklahoma City. Jewish peace activists protested inside Trump Tower. The people will not be silent as the powerful try to silence the people’s freedom to speak. To be willingly silent now will mean more unwilling silence later.  Because, as we’re already seeing, Mahmoud Khalil is only the first of many. The first of many to be detained. The first of many to be silenced. For themselves standing against occupation and violence. Or even standing next to those who do. But the people will not be quiet. Not in the 1960s, denouncing the war in Vietnam. Not in the 1980s, against the war in Nicaragua. Not in the 2020s, against the war in Palestine. And not now…  In defense of those standing up for what’s right and for their rights. In defense of the people’s inalienable right to speak up and speak freely. In defense of life and those who fight for peace.  In defense of Mahmoud Khalil.  On March 8, 2025, ICE agents detained, without a warrant, Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at his home in New York City. Khalil is a US resident, but Trump officials said they’d stripped him of his green card. His crime? Standing up and speaking out against the US-backed Israeli attack on Palestine. As a graduate student at Columbia University last year, he helped to lead protests against Israeli genocide in Gaza. And just as he stood up for the Palestinians, others are standing up for Khalil. People have rallied for his freedom across the country. Folksinger David Rovics latest song is called Mahmoud Khalil, you can listen to it here. You can check out and subscribe to Rovics’ Substack, here, and sign up for his podcast on Spotify.  This is episode 13 of Stories of Resistance—a new podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times. Written and produced by Michael Fox. You can see his exclusive pictures of many of the episodes and support Stories of Resistance at www.patreon.com/mfox. Mahmoud Khalil’s abduction and Trump’s escalating war on the Palestine movement My name is Mahmoud Khalil and I am a political prisoner. ...read more read less