The administration of US President Donald Trump has left everyone who cares about free speech in the country little choice but to defend and champion Mahmoud Khalil, as he faces the most insidious attack on freedom of conscience in America in at least 60 years.
Mr Khalil has been arrested, pending deportation, for his involvement last year as a Columbia University student protesting Israel’s brutal and self-declared “war of vengeance” in Gaza, and role as a negotiator for other students. He hasn’t been accused of any crime at all, except violating, in retrospect, Mr Trump's recent executive order against the spread of “anti-Semitism”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has drawn upon cobweb-covered and seldom-invoked powers to claim that he poses a national security risk and must be expelled as a terrorist threat. This appears to have no basis. If Mr Rubio has any evidence connecting him to terrorism or advocacy of violence, that’s unknown.
The most extensive “dossier” on Mr Khalil was compiled by Canary Mission, a group that claims to “document individuals and organisations that promote hatred of the US, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses and beyond”. This dossier is a barrage of accusations that cites no statements he personally made in favour of Hamas or the attack against Israel on October 7, or in favour of violence. It goes to great lengths to connect him by various degrees of separation to others who may have crossed various lines of propriety. But it’s just guilt by association.
There has never been a modern US administration with such zealous enthusiasm for using the government’s power to enforce politically correct speech
Mr Khalil – a Palestinian refugee born in Syria and studying at Columbia during the war in Gaza – protested the connection of his own university and other US institutions to this protracted atrocity that cost tens of thousands of civilian lives. Apparently, he also had the temerity to serve as a negotiator between university officials and other students, often more radical than himself. Stripped of a blatant anti-Palestinian bias and loathing, that would appear to be a useful and constructive role – not an indictment.
But let’s just suppose Mr Rubio is in possession of more damning evidence against Mr Khalil. Unless this evidence rises to the incitement of imminent violence – such as, for example, the statements of many of his own cabinet colleagues and the US President himself before the attack against Congress on January 6, 2021 – or explicit endorsements of Hamas’s atrocities on October 7, 2023, it is going to be extremely difficult to make the case that a permanent legal resident, married to a US citizen, who is otherwise blameless, can be reasonably arrested and deported – although to where is not clear – purely on the basis of political incorrectness.
There has never been a modern US administration with such zealous enthusiasm for using the government’s power to enforce politically correct speech throughout the executive branch, in schools, libraries and other institutions, and to punish – including by deportation – those vulnerable for politically incorrect ideas.
Mr Khalil is a proponent of divestment from Israel on the grounds that it is an apartheid state. This offends many right-wing evangelicals and Jewish Americans. Apparently, this also offends the administration to the point of wishing to remove him and any other similar foreign national – including even permanent residents, traditionally held to be protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech and freedom of conscience – from the country.
I have consistently voiced doubts about the wisdom of using the term “apartheid” to describe the system of separation and inequality that Israel imposes on Palestinians in the occupied territories. This is because it tends to steer the conversation into a debate about South African history rather than Israeli policy. However, the system that Israel imposes by force on Palestinians more than merits such an accusation.
Universities with policies against investing in states practising “apartheid”, adopted during the battle against “systematised racism in South Africa”, are highly vulnerable to having those policies applied to investment in Israel. It is impossible to honestly, accurately and sincerely deny that Israel is imposing a form of apartheid on Palestinians – in some ways less severe, but in many ways more severe, than in South Africa before the end of apartheid. Calling this “anti-Semitism“ is simply a lie.
None of this is probably of interest to the Trump administration. What appears to matter to Mr Trump and Mr Rubio is not the truth, or constitutional rights like freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, but rather the application of a campaign promise to crack down on anti-war protesters who opposed on college campuses Israel’s brutality in Gaza. Mr Trump described this as part of a “radical revolution” and vowed to “set that movement back 25 or 30 years”.
That somehow didn’t seem to register with the thousands of Arab Americans who voted for him or irrelevant third-party candidates, or, worst of all, stayed home. As usual, nothing that Mr Trump is doing is anything he didn’t say he was going to do on the campaign trail. Mr Khalil, he promises, will be the first of many expulsions.
But if permanent residents with green cards like Mr Khalil can be arrested and potentially deported for perfectly legitimate political speech – which is not only constitutionally protected but is also intellectually and morally valid and, arguably, unassailable – there is really not much protecting citizens from a government crackdown either. This is part of a broader attack on US higher education, freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, and, ultimately, the right of Americans to respond with activism to appalling human rights abuses.
I haven’t been a university student for decades. But I know this: with the exception of students who are merely seeking degrees for professional advancement, or those who are focused on domestic social justice, those student activists who are animated by international justice issues who had not responded to the Gaza war with major protest campaigns – given the involvement of the US and its institutions with Israel and its war effort – would have been unworthy and remiss in their self-defined mission. There would’ve been something wrong with them.
There was nothing wrong with Mr Khalil, except that he did what anyone else with his convictions and in his position would have done – at least as far as we know. That he is being punished for that constitutes the most chilling assault on free speech and freedom of conscience in the US since the McCarthy era in the early 1950s. And if that isn’t enough to wake up everyone with a conscience, it’s hard to know what would be.
Quick%20facts
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SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.4-litre%204-cylinder%20turbo%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20366hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E550Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESix-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh360%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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Poacher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERichie%20Mehta%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nimisha%20Sajayan%2C%20Roshan%20Mathew%2C%20Dibyendu%20Bhattacharya%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Honeymoonish
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
RIDE%20ON
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShaffra%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDIFC%20Innovation%20Hub%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Emetaverse-as-a-Service%20(MaaS)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ecurrently%20closing%20%241.5%20million%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%20Abu%20Dhabi%20and%20different%20PCs%20and%20angel%20investors%20from%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Formula One top 10 drivers' standings after Japan
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 306
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 234
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 192
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 148
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 111
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 82
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 65
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 48
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 34
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
ENGLAND%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGoalkeepers%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pickford%20(Everton)%2C%20Pope%20(Newcastle)%2C%20Ramsdale%20(Arsenal)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDefenders%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chilwell%20(Chelsea)%2C%20Dier%20(Tottenham)%2C%20Guehi%20(Crystal%20Palace)%2C%20James%20(Chelsea)%2C%20Maguire%20(Man%20United)%2C%20Shaw%20(Man%20United)%2C%20Stones%20(Man%20City)%2C%20Trippier%20(Newcastle)%2C%20Walker%20(Man%20City)%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMidfielders%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBellingham%20(Dortmund)%2C%20Gallagher%20(Chelsea)%2C%20Henderson%20(Liverpool)%2C%20Maddison%20(Leicester)%2C%20Mount%20(Chelsea)%2C%20Phillips%20(Man%20City)%2C%20Declan%20Rice%20(West%20Ham)%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EForwards%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFoden%20(Man%20City)%2C%20Grealish%20(Man%20City)%2C%20Kane%20(Tottenham)%2C%20Rashford%20(Man%20United)%2C%20Saka%20(Arsenal)%2C%20Toney%20(Brentford)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Tuesday results:
- Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
- UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
- Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets
Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
MATCH INFO
UAE Division 1
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 12-24 Abu Dhabi Saracens
