BUZZ
30-year-old Mahmoud Khalil repeatedly refuses to answer CNN’s question
Columbia University’s famed pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil said it is “absurd” and “disingenuous” to ask him if he condemns the terrorist group Hamas.
Khalil repeatedly avoided answering the direct question during a recent interview on CNN. The Trump administration tried to deport Khalil and accused him of lying on his visa application after he omitted his work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
The Trump administration is also seeking to deport Khalil, an Algerian national, on the grounds he is sympathetic to Hamas and is promoting antisemitism.
“Just to be clear here, do you specifically condemn Hamas, a designated terrorist organization in the United States, not just for their action on Oct. 7?” CNN’s Pamela Brown asked Khalil on Tuesday.
“I condemn the killing of all civilians, full stop,” Khalil said. Brown asked again, but Khalil kept talking.
“To me, it‘s always, as I said, disingenuous and absurd to ask such questions when literally 62,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel,” he said. “And that‘s why I wouldn‘t really engage much into such questions on condemnation or not. Because selective condemnation wouldn‘t get us anywhere. It’s just like [hypocritical] to be honest.”
Brown asked multiple times, specifically referencing the Trump administration claim that Khalil is a “Hamas sympathizer.”
Khalil has become a rallying point for Democrats who see him as a sign of the Trump administration’s excessive crackdown on foreign students and criticism of Israel.
The Washington Free Beacon provided further background on Khalil:
Khalil was a leader in anti-Semitic protests at Columbia University, serving as a negotiator during spring 2024 encampments. Video footage placed him at an illegal protest at Barnard College, during which agitators disseminated Hamas propaganda. He was arrested days later, after the Trump administration revoked his visa and green card as part of its crackdown on student visa holders who support terror groups.
The Syrian native and Algerian national, who worked for the Hamas-tied United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees during the Oct. 7 attack, was released in June after more than three months, though deportation proceedings are ongoing.
The interview drew criticism from the official Department of Homeland Security account.
Mahmoud Khalil refuses to condemn Hamas because he IS a terrorist sympathizer not because DHS ‘painted’ him as one. He ‘branded’ himself as antisemite through his own hateful behavior and rhetoric.
It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the… pic.twitter.com/nC2WCR6Dul
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 22, 2025
“Mahmoud Khalil refuses to condemn Hamas because he IS a terrorist sympathizer not because DHS ‘painted’ him as one,” the department wrote on X. “He ‘branded’ himself as antisemite through his own hateful behavior and rhetoric.”
“The Trump Administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority to detain Khalil, as it does with any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews, and damages property.”
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil; CNN/X
