Columbia University Hamas Terror Leader Retains Al-Qaeda Lawyer—A Match Made in Hell

Syrian Mahmoud Khalil has nineteen America-hating, Jew-hating lawyers defending him.

They’re not defending him. They’re defending the Islamic terrorist movement in the United States.

A match made in hell: The Columbia University student activist detained over the weekend by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials has lawyered up.

When Mahmoud Khalil appeared in federal court on Wednesday (spoiler alert: the Obama-nominated judge, Jesse Furman, temporarily halted his deportation), he was represented by, among others, a fellow Columbia graduate by the name of Ramzi Kassem. The Free Beacon’s Alana Goodman reports:

Kassem has represented terrorists including Ahmed al-Darbi, an al Qaeda member convicted in 2017 for the bombing of a French oil tanker, as well as several other Guantanamo Bay detainees, including a “close associate” of Osama bin Laden. He went on to serve as an immigration policy adviser to former president Joe Biden as a member of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council.

Like his new client, Kassem was also involved in anti-Israel activism as a student at Columbia, where he lobbied to rename a sandwich called the “Israeli wrap” in the student dining hall, claiming the terminology was offensive to Muslims. He attended Columbia Law School on a fellowship funded by Paul Soros, the elder brother of Democratic megadonor George Soros.

A match made in hell, part two: Columbia University and Barnard College students are rallying support for their friend Khalil—including “Squad” member Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi. The Free Beacon’s Jessica Costescu reports:

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), championed a fundraiser supporting Mahmoud Khalil, the student activist and foreign national facing deportation by the Trump administration over his pro-Hamas campus organizing.

The online fundraiser was launched after Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Khalil into custody Saturday night after the State Department revoked his visa and green card. By Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser had raised nearly $270,000, surpassing its $250,000 goal and prompting administrators to set a new target of $500,000.

Hirsi, a far-left activist, anti-Israel agitator, and Barnard College senior, posted a screenshot of the fundraiser with a link to the webpage on her Instagram story Tuesday afternoon, which at the time had raised about $115,000.

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