Secretary Rubio said you're a threat to foreign policy. Can you just tell us what you were hoping for and how you've worked with some of your Jewish brothers and sisters, as well as Muslim brothers and sisters? My activism. [00:00:16] So they are basically he is describing being anti war as anti-Semitic. How could that be possible when my partners, most of my partners at Columbia's campus and beyond, are Jews and Israelis? [00:00:34] Senator Peter Welch met with Palestinian activist Moshe Mahdaoui at an Ice detention center in the state of Vermont. Now, Madawi, a Columbia graduate student, was swept up by ice [00:00:50] at his citizenship interview. In fact, he had a sit down interview that I watched where he had suspected that when he goes in for his citizenship interview, they might detain him because of the fact that he's been a vocal peace protester. Obviously he wants the war and the bloodshed in Gaza to end, [00:01:07] and we just can't have that, apparently. Now, prior to his move to the United States back in 2014, Mahdaoui was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank. He studies philosophy philosophy at Columbia and was set to graduate in a month. [00:01:24] Both Mahdaoui and Mahmoud Khalil were actually co-founders of Columbia's Palestinian Student Union and were active in campus protests. So you can understand why he would be a target of the Trump administration's. But despite being a green card holder and committing absolutely no crimes, Secretary [00:01:41] of State Marco Rubio invoked the rarely used Federal Power Alien Enemies Act. I believe it's called to detain Mahdaoui because of his activism. The provision within the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the government to initiate the deportation of lawful permanent residents on the basis [00:02:00] that they present a threat to U.S. Foreign policy. And remember, What would U.S. Foreign policy be if it wasn't constantly doing the bidding of the wonderful state of Israel? John, we're going to get to some video of, you know, [00:02:18] Badawi's and who he is as a person. It's just like, I can't stand the injustice here. Yeah, the constant injustice, the injustice there, the injustice of Khalil's wife giving birth, and he doesn't get to be there. Maybe he doesn't see the kid for years because he held [00:02:34] a politically incorrect position. And they are so violently, aggressively opposed to anyone thinking things they don't like that they'll end your life. They'll they'll possibly literally deport you somewhere you could end up being killed. And I feel like the wise thing that the Trump administration is doing [00:02:53] is it reminds me of something from season one of Andor where, like, if there's a single atrocity that everybody can focus on it, but if you just do a lot of atrocities, then it's too much. Like, how do you focus? So, like Khalil, that should be like the story. Like, oh my God, you literally just locked. [00:03:09] You're locking someone up because they are against a war like that. Should be. That is crazier than anything happened under under Biden for four years. But also Garcia at the same time. That's crazier than anything that happened under Joe Biden for four years, that you would deport a guy like that and literally for weeks. [00:03:24] Just call him Ms13. Call him a terrorist. You're not even alleging as to what terrorism he supposedly did. You say it. Just say whatever you have to say. Make up words, redefine them. And then, you know, the stuff they're saying about the courts. And then Johnson says he's going to dissolve the courts. And like, every day, there's another thing that's crazier than anything [00:03:42] we've experienced for half a decade. And so how do you keep up, like in the face of so many utterly demoralizing, unjust acts? And, you know, just there is a lot going on. Right? But there's a through line in some of these controversial stories, [00:03:58] especially when it comes to the lack of due process when it comes to punishing people based on their views on how a foreign country is carrying out a war. Yeah. And so just yesterday we had shared a story about how, you know, [00:04:15] the National Institutes of Health put out a notice indicating that they will not give grants to any researcher, regardless of what they're researching. They could be on the precipice of finding a cancer cure. Doesn't matter. They will not receive any grants from the National Institutes of Health if [00:04:31] they are supportive of the BDS movement, which is the boycott and divest movement in order to hold Israel accountable for, you know, what they're doing to the Palestinian people. And I, I really can't understand how it is that you can have [00:04:48] the federal government punish Americans, Americans in that case, for their political views, for their speech. And no one's, like, really challenging it. It's it's incredible. So let's get back to this issue, of, you know, motion madawi [00:05:04] and what he's going through, because, as I said, there's no evidence that he's a threat to national security. No evidence that he has caused any problems at all in the United States. The only thing he's done is he's engaged in protests in regard to how Israel [00:05:19] is prosecuting this war in Gaza. In fact, Mahdawi told Senator Welch that all he wants is peace. Let's take a look at that. My work has been centered on peacemaking and all what I am doing. I am being a human. [00:05:34] My empathy, as I mentioned before, extends beyond the Palestinian people, and my empathy extends to the Jews and to the Israelis. And my hope and my dream is to see this conflict, if one might say, to see [00:05:53] an end to the war, an end to the killing, to see a peaceful resolution between Palestinians and Israelis. How could this be a threat to anybody except the war machine that is leading this? It would be good for everybody for us to have peace. [00:06:09] In fact, a court filing describes him as a committed Buddhist who believes in nonviolence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion. Wow. Sounds like a real threat to national security. He has passionately spoken out against against anti-Semitism [00:06:25] during an episode of 60 minutes in 2023. Here's what he had to say. To be anti-Semitic is unjust, is unjust, and the fight for the freedom of Palestine and the fight against anti-Semitism go [00:06:40] hand in hand, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Now, after his arrest, many Jewish students, faculty and organizations spoke out on his behalf. And I love to see that. Yes, it's great because there are wonderful Jewish brothers and sisters in [00:06:57] this country who are also critical of how Israel is prosecuting that war in Gaza. Okay, because they have eyes, they have ears, they see what's happening and they see the humanity in everyone. And I know most people do. So, Sarah Chin, an English professor at Hunter College [00:07:17] who actually has family in Israel, argued Trump doesn't give a damn about Jews. This is part of a concerted attack on higher education. That's it. But Mahdawi doesn't want the focus to just be on him. He told Senator Welch that he wants the pro-peace movement [00:07:32] to stay focused on Gaza. Let's watch. I'm staying positive by reassuring myself and the inevitability of justice and in the deep belief of democracy. This is the reason I wanted to become a citizen of this country, because I [00:07:49] believe in the principles of this country. I want to tell everyone that I feel so loved and so supported, and I am here in good hands. I am centered, I am clear, I am grounded, and I don't want you to worry about me. [00:08:07] I want you to continue working for the democracy of this country and for humanity. The war must stop. I mean, he was on the verge of being a US citizen. Now he's detained in an Ice facility detention center [00:08:25] when he's done nothing wrong. He's offended, you know, the far right government of Israel? Well, he's committed multiple thought crimes, so let's make sure to write that down. He is a literal political prisoner. And when he gets this interview, he tells everyone. Don't worry about me. [00:08:40] Meanwhile, like Donald Trump commits crimes on tape and whines for years about how it's unfair that he's investigated. And then the Supreme Court turns him into a king and nothing happens. No one's treated the difference. - No one's been. - Treated as unfairly as he has. [00:08:55] No one. Think of it. No. 100%. And by the way, like that. So we have that individual. There's. But there's dozens and dozens of people that have been black, bagged off college campuses and are languishing in these detention. They are 100% political prisoners purely for thought crimes. That's it. And meanwhile, what do we hear? [00:09:11] We hear like the January 6th people like on tape, breaking down doors, assaulting cops. They were the political prisoners. They didn't get due process even though they had trials. They went before juries, they went before judges and all that. In fact, they deserve reparations, we're told, from Stephen Miller. [00:09:28] And so, look, I think you're totally right. There's definitely the Israel aspect of this. I think there's also a very hefty dose of racism. It's the belief that, don't worry, people aren't going to get that worked up to support these people who are black and brown or Venezuelan or whatever. [00:09:43] Like nobody's really going to get that worked up. I feel like that's underlying a lot of this. And that makes across both the miss 13 accused stuff and the stuff having to do with Israel, it's a great test cases for them. Like if we can get away with it with this and people eventually come to accept it, well then we get the Homegrowns and we get, you know, U.S. [00:10:01] Citizens who supported Gaza or whatever. You make a really good point, and you articulated it way better than I have in the past, because the point I've been trying to make about the erosion of due process is once you are okay with our government, [00:10:16] ripping due process away from individuals who are not citizens, well, then you're opening a Pandora's box that will eventually come back to haunt you. Okay. And American citizens. And sure enough, you have Donald Trump, you know, a B testing the notion [00:10:33] of sending homegrown terrorists to El Salvador with no due process. You know, due process for everyone is ridiculous, according to Donald Trump. - That was another thing he said. - Convenience. Inefficient. Forget about your rights. Forget about the Constitution. Just lay down. It'll be way easier for you that way. [00:10:49] I can't think of anything more un-American than the idea that you just have the government a king. Point to anyone, accuse them of anything, and punish them without a day in court. - Yeah. - That's insane. And the media wing of the right, they're like on their Steve Bannon on this week. Literally. [00:11:04] Like they're not even saying like they're using code words to shred the Constitution. They're literally saying no more habeas corpus. They're using the code word like the one thing you're not supposed to admit that you're against. They're openly saying, no, we just we don't need it. And they're on Twitter. All of like abolish the Supreme Court, liquidate it. [00:11:22] If they try to stop Trump, they're bragging about this. It's a it's a mark of honor for them to have these positions. Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets his wings. Totally not true. But it does keep you updated on our live shows.