The recent attempts by the Trump administration to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and a lawful permanent resident of the United States, have stirred widespread outrage and fueled protests across the country. While his arrest may have shocked the world, those familiar with the ongoing domestic tensions related to Gaza were sadly unsurprised. In recent months, there has been a palpable rise in anti-Palestinian sentiment in the U.S., particularly following the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. This surge is providing Donald Trump with the convenient pretext to target so-called “undesirables” while striking at the heart of free speech and academic freedom.
One angry individual wrote to me last spring saying, “If you love Hamas so much, why not move to southern Gaza?” This came in response to my article in the LA Times, where I criticized my own institution, the University of Southern California (USC), for deploying riot police against peaceful protestors. Following that, my email was inundated with thousands of hateful automated messages after I mocked the campus lockdowns in a satirical piece. The incident that still lingers in my mind is the group of irate Texans vociferously opposing my speech, where I presented evidence of what I termed Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
This kind of backlash is part and parcel of my work. My own experiences pale in comparison to colleagues who have put themselves in harm’s way to protect students and consequently faced arrests and sanctions. Our students have faced blacklisting and job offer cancellations. However, these struggles are dwarfed by the tragedies that have struck the people in Gaza over the last 17 months. Over 47,000 lives have been lost, a toll exacerbated by U.S.-manufactured munitions used by Israeli forces. Devastation has claimed all the universities in Gaza, along with the lives of more than 100 deans, professors, and university staff, as well as hundreds of students. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 170 journalists, mostly Palestinian, have been killed, with some being intentionally “murdered.” The conditions are dire, marked by a lack of medical supplies, food scarcity, and tens of thousands succumbing to starvation. Across the border, I recently spoke with a doctor who had tragically lost 200 family members in Gaza.
Many U.S. citizens fail to see this bleak reality due to the consistent erosion of the Palestinian narrative in American media, where Palestinians often appear either as terrorists or passive victims, never as fully fleshed-out humans. This dehumanization partly explains the disturbing arrest of Khalil. Trump’s message is crystal clear—U.S. colleges and universities should assist in identifying and expelling individuals he labels as terrorist sympathizers.
Academic institutions are now at a crossroads and must push back against this authoritarian directive while they still can. However, the longstanding erasure and dehumanization of Palestinians pose significant hurdles to this task. The uncritical acceptance of skewed accusations of antisemitism complicates resistance efforts considerably.
Some accusations of antisemitism are conveniently linked to overwhelmingly peaceful gatherings focused on the Gaza crisis, highlighting issues like genocide with slogans such as “from the river to the sea,” echoing sentiments from Israel’s own political discourse. Even as some international bodies such as South Africa have brought genocide charges against Israel, expressing similar concerns shouldn’t constitute antisemitism. Legitimate cases of antisemitism do demand attention, but it’s important to recognize when such charges are weaponized against free speech and higher education.
This past month, 77 Jewish and Jewish Studies faculty and their allies at USC voiced their concerns to President Carol Folt. They condemned the Trump administration’s executive order on fighting antisemitism as a misuse of Jewish identity to further repression and deportation agendas and urged the university to safeguard free speech principles despite potential federal funding threats.
The Justice Department is ramping up scrutiny by sending investigators to various universities, including USC, to monitor foreign students’ activities. Trump’s promises make it clear that Khalil’s arrest is but the first among many. Financially, universities are feeling the squeeze, with billions at risk if they resist Trump’s directives on protesting students and DEI programs, as shown when Columbia recently saw $400 million cut from federal aid following their willingness to comply.
It proves futile to yield to these authoritarian pressures, given the likelihood of negative outcomes regardless. The broader intention behind these actions, as articulated by Trump administration officials, is to severely weaken academic institutions. The aim, according to senior strategist Christopher Rufo, is to inflict a kind of existential fear within universities, shrinking their influence.
Faced with this, universities need to take a firm stand. It’s crucial to uphold and fight for the values we hold dear—academic freedom, free inquiry, and expression rights. A message from the University of California’s chancellor to the UC Berkeley community echoes this sentiment, emphasizing steadfast defense of these core values in the face of federal challenges.
In these times, universities must be bastions of resistance. Silence in response to authoritarian encroachments—is not an option. Whether on matters of DEI, federal overreach, or discourse on complex global issues, academia must join forces with students in advocating for the marginalized and upholding human dignity and rights.
While we face formidable opposition, we must persist with facts, context, reason, empathy, and above all, bravery, for as long as we possibly can.
Sandy Tolan teaches at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC and is the author of notable works on the history of Israel and Palestine, including the acclaimed “The Lemon Tree.”
