'First They Came for the Palestinian': Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil Sparks Nationwide Movement
The Socialist Program with Brian Becker
The Socialist Program
4.7 • 587 Ratings
🗓️ 13 March 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When Trump ordered the arrest and deportation of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil in New York City, he didn't expect it would trigger a mass movement in his defense. Millions of people understand it as an epic battle over free speech and the right to organize in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Brian is joined by Layan Sima Fuleihan, a Palestinian organizer, popular educator, and Education Director at The People’s Forum. Both were at the rally today outside the courthouse where Khalil's attorneys challenged ICE's removal of Khalil to Louisiana.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Palestinian political activist Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of Columbia University, |
| 0:07.0 | is charged with no crime. And yet today he sits in a U.S. prison, an ICE detention center. |
| 0:13.0 | Why? Because of his political views. |
| 0:16.0 | We need a new system. We need a new society. We need to demand that which may have sounded impossible even a few weeks ago, but is not only realizable, but an imperative necessity. Welcome to the Socialist Program. I'm your host, Brian Becker. Today we're talking with |
| 0:57.5 | Leanne Sima Fulian. She is a popular educator. She's the education director at the People's Forum. |
| 1:03.8 | She's an organizer with Shut It Down for Palestine. And she has been one of the key organizers |
| 1:09.6 | mobilizing mass support for Mahmoud Khalil. Welcome. |
| 1:14.2 | Thanks for having me on the show, Brian. Well, this is an epic battle. We're recording on Wednesday. |
| 1:20.3 | I mean, just a few hours ago, thousands of people were down at Foley Square outside the federal court |
| 1:26.5 | where Mahmood's lawyers were trying to get him |
| 1:29.2 | free from an ICE detention center in Louisiana. They did not succeed. There is going to be a legal |
| 1:34.9 | process, however. Anyway, thousands of people were there. This is an epic battle. I think people |
| 1:40.5 | around the country actually recognize it for what it is, something that's not |
| 1:44.7 | just about the case of one individual, but the outcome will impact society at large. |
| 1:49.6 | Let's talk about it. |
| 1:50.9 | Well, Brian, that's a great place to start, because I think that's the most important |
| 1:55.3 | development so far. |
| 1:56.4 | The Trump administration clearly tried to single out Mahmoud Khalil in order to scare people, other people, from coming out and protesting and exercising their right to political speech. |
| 2:08.6 | Instead of scaring people, he was arrested on Saturday night. By Monday, there were thousands, nearly 10,000 people were in the streets protesting for his release, for his |
| 2:20.0 | right to be with his family, for him to be returned from Louisiana and brought back to New York |
| 2:24.9 | City and released immediately for ICE to be off the campuses. |
| 2:28.8 | Then since then, every single day there have been mass protests. |
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