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Top, Instagram photo from account of Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested in Colchester Monday by DHS authorities. Bottom, screenshot from 60 Minutes interview where he expressed ’empathy’ for terrorist organization Hamas.
By Guy Page
A Palestinian man living in the U.S. on a green card and arrested by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Colchester Monday, April 14 has a lengthy history of pro-Palestinian activism and ‘empathy’ for Hamas, including a 60 Minutes interview on which he claimed revenge on Israel when he was 10 years old.
An April 14 VTDigger news story cites a friend of Mohsen Mahdawi claiming the arrested Palestinian owns a second home in West Fairlee, that he is a pacifist trying to unite all sides, and that his arrest violates U.S. law. In apparent contradiction to the pacifist claim, other reports about Mahdawi show he is a Columbia University organizer in tacit support of Hamas and against Israel following the Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, including 43 U.S. citizens.
(Christopher Helali of Vershire, the friend of Mahdawi cited by VTDigger, is the elected high bailiff for Orange County. Helali for U.S. Congress as the Communist Party candidate and admits he was on an FBI watch list due to his fighting in the Middle East on the part of pro-Kurdish insurgents against ISIS. See August, 2020 Vermont Daily Chronicle post: “Progressive Party Chair for Orange County runs for U.S House as communist, has Antifa ties.”)
Lawyers for Mahdawi filed a petition in federal court in Vermont alleging unlawful detention. Judge William Sessions issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the removal of Mahdawi from Vermont or the U.S., unless/until he issues another order.
In their petition, Mahdawi’s lawyers alleged the Trump administration “has made clear that it intends to retaliate and punish individuals such as Mr. Mahdawi who advocated for ceasefire and ending the bloodshed in Gaza. Respondents’ actions plainly violate the First Amendment, which protects Mr. Mahdawi’s right to speak on matters of public concern and prevents the government from chilling constitutionally-protected speech.”
However, Mahdawi’s words and actions on behalf of Palestinian armed forces appear to go further than calling for a ceasefire. An Instagram photo of Mahdawi shows him brandishing what appears to be an assault rifle. In 2013, Mahdawi reportedly thanked a Facebook user for sharing a poem that said: “I will breathe home… / And fill my shame / And clean my gun / And collect my packages, my bombs / And embrace my gun…”
Mahdawi told CBS’s 60 Minutes in December, 2023 that he vowed revenge on Israel when he was 10 years old, from the moment an Israeli soldier shot and killed his best friend.
Mahdawi: And I had my best friend with me, Hemida. And suddenly I see an Israeli soldier pointing the rifle at us and he shot my friend in his chest.
60 Minutes host Bill Whitaker: You were how old?
Mahdawi: I was ten years old. And I still remember when we put him in the grave, I held him and I shook him. I said, “Hemida, wake up, wake up.” He didn’t wake up, and I told him, “I promise, I promise, I will revenge.”
Mahdawi is reportedly the ninth Columbia University Palestinian activist to be arrested. Jewish students at Columbia say they were threatened physically and called anti-semitic names by campus Palestinian activists.
During the CBS 60 Minutes interview with Bill Whitaker, Mahdawi claimed “empathy” for Hamas.
Mahdawi: When somebody is hurting you, when you see this person is being punched in the face. And this feeling it is you now feel my pain.
Whitaker: But this Hamas attack wasn’t a punch in the face. This was a horrible terror attack.
Mahdawi: I did not say that I justify what Hamas has done. I said I can empathize. To empathize is to understand the root cause, and to not look at any event or situation in a vacuum. This is, for me, the path moving forward.
In a Columbia campus speech, Mahdawi downplayed the Israeli charge of Hamas attempting to commit genocide but instead emphasized what he called Israeli genocide of Palestinians – the responsive military action in Gaza resulting in many thousands of deaths following the October 7 surprise attack.
As Mahdawi is speaking at length, someone is holding a sign that says “Judaism The State of Israel And Its Atrocities.” At no time does Mahdawi rebuke either the sign holder or its message. However, during his speech he does attempt to clarify that the slogan ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” expresses the desire that Jews and Palestinians live together with equal rights.
Nowhere in VDC’s online search of Mahdawi does he rebuke Hamas – a designated terrorist organization responsible for killing 45 Americans on October 7, and others before and after. As he tells 60 Minutes:
Mahdawi: When somebody is hurting you, when you see this person is being punched in the face. And this feeling it is you now feel my pain.
Whitaker: But this Hamas attack wasn’t a punch in the face. This was a horrible terror attack.
Mahdawi: I did not say that I justify what Hamas has done. I said I can empathize. To empathize is to understand the root cause, and to not look at any event or situation in a vacuum. This is, for me, the path moving forward.
According to an October 22, 2023 newspaper interview, Mahdawi said: “Hamas is a product of the Israeli occupation.”
According to the interview, soon after October 7, 2023, Mahdawi and leaders of other anti-Israel student groups at Columbia wrote a statement that said: “We remind Columbia students that the Palestinian struggle for freedom is rooted in international law, under which occupied peoples have the right to resist the occupation of their land.”
The statement that Mahdawi reportedly co-authored continued: “If every political avenue available to Palestinians is blocked, we should not be surprised when resistance and violence break out.”
The arrest drew criticism from Windsor County Senator Becca White, who was present at the arrest site in Colchester (a DHS office). As reported by VTDigger, White said: “What I learned today is Vermont is not safe. This happened here in Colchester, Vermont, with an Upper Valley resident, a young man who has been deeply ingrained in our community. And it is just so clear that if he can be taken, anyone can be taken.”
Vermont Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., in a joint statement Monday afternoon called the arrest “immoral, inhumane, and illegal.’
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Categories: Public Safety
This fellow needs to go back to Gaza if he is so intent on taking the fight to the IDF instead of hiding behind a student visa while those he supposedly supports do the fighting and dying.
If he is a threat to national security and advocates violence, it isn’t about his free speech rights.
Exactly.
Vermont Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., in a joint statement Monday afternoon called the arrest “immoral, inhumane, and illegal……….. Maybe these three need a plane ticket !!
These three feckless fools are who you elected to represent you in DC to show the world who we are, wake up people, you voted for these clowns
And Sanders, our very own barking buffoon on a nation wide tour, I guess he forgot about supporting Vermont, for Bernie, its always been only about Bernie !!
I agree with Becca Balint , Vermont is not safe!!!!!
Our state, our communities, and our public schools are partnering with organizations that want to dismantle Israel and America. The potential to do much harm is very real.
Right now we have anti Israeli organizations that are working to provide programs for Vermont public schools. Some of these programs are outlined on the Education Coalition of Vermont website.
Outright Vermont, who works in over 100 of our public schools has along with the Education Coalition of Vermont, signed the anti-apartheid Free Pledge on the Vermont Coalition for Liberation of Palestine website.
Outright Vermont is one of the main speakers next month at the Vermont Principals Association Cohort #2.
This is very deep sh#*t, we are all being thrust into.
Please read my Comments here. You’re more than accurate.
OMG how cool is it that our children are being subjected to leftist propaganda that promotes subservience to crazed terrorists who believe killing innocents is the path to peace.
Hmmm, you’d think holding that AK-47 would have Becca White, Bernie, Welch, Balint and many others under the dome up in arms (no pun intended), but I guess if you’re of the “correct” political persuasion it’s totally fine.
100 💯 percent correct.
Bye 👋 have a nice flight home, terrorist lover
I think the point of Welch, Bernie etc is that due process needs to happen. Everyonedeserves their day in court. Just not put on a plane to El Salvador.
In which case many should be placed into U.S. prisons?
Only because he is technically here legally (9-years on a student visa?) so keep him locked up, give him his due process, revoke his student visa, and send him out of the country for good. As for your El Salvadorian comment, the guy was here illegally. Whenever you do something illegal, there can be unforeseen consequences . . . just ask some of the non-violent protestors on Jan 6th that got swept up and thrown in jail (many with out bail) while awaiting their “due process” to take place.
No they don’t! They are here illegally! They don’t have those rights especially because they are deemed terrorists, enemies of our Country!
Vermont State Senator Becca White should have been working in Montpelier representing her Windsor County; not in Colchester Vt.. Maybe she got a day pass off from work? Or does the D’s have a rotating work force for out of town assignments? WCAX reports her stating 2 adult “white” men sitting in an idling car. Could Becca White be guilty of racial profiling? The answer is yes.
Senator White stated she was asked to be there for his protection a few weeks ago; her knowing that she was already committed to her elected job in Montpelier. Yes Senator White; you set this up.
I’d bet the Palestinian man; the Columbia U (New York) student; White River Jct resident; was not holding that weapon in Palestine nor New York City nor the Empire State of New York; but more than likely right here in Vermont. Are green card holders eligible to purchase and/or possess weapons?
Very good question. Likely not.
Please put all liberal leftist Dem Swamp Rats 🐀 🐀 on a last flight ✈️ out of the USA, one bottle of Swamp Water, beans and maybe a hotdog or two period!!
Don’t you think 🤔 I do!!
It’s so embarrassing to be represented by these 3 Socialist Stooges! This man and the others definitely don’t belong in our Country! Why would they support these terrorists!
They have no right to die process when they support our enemies!
Don’t let the door hit you in the butt as your booted out of our wonderful county as you return to the place of hatred brutality and plain idiocy.
There are 2 facts not immediately apparent yet nevertheless significant. One is how many violent leftists come to Vermont. The second is related. I have rantd for severl years about Leftists with whom I am acquainted. Far from mere personal spite, this is intentional “whistleblowing”. The old “Liberty Union Party”, now “green Mountain Peace and Justice Party” is a hub for networking. There are several in Vermont. “Mission Statements” conceal actual policies. “Migrant Justice”, “Milk With Dignity”, etc. They bpromote racism and elitism while preaching the opposite.
Is it conincidence that the violent “Zizzians”gravitated to Vermont? Where were they headed when apprehended on Rte. 91. My educated guess is they were on the way to Marina Brown and Laura Potter’s property in E. Charleston.
There is an old saying. Before you seek revenge, at first dig two graves.
Not to 100% condemn Hamas’ devilish actions on October 7th—and thus the terrorist organization as a whole—is to 100% support it. It’s kind of like being sort of pregnant; you either are or you aren’t. There can be zero support for an organization which butchers, beheads, burns, and rapes innocent children, women, moms, dads, families, and pets in cold blood, and videotapes it. There must be zero compromise with the devil.
It would be like not condemning the Nazis because you disagree with some of the policies of Poland in the 1940’s. It’s nothing but gaslighting of the most perverse nature to blame innocent victims of unprovoked demonic violent attacks.
Sanders, Welch, and Balint’s support for Hamas reveals how deceived they are. And yes, if they don’t 100% condemn Hamas, they are tacitly supporting it. It’s sickening.
Try holding your nose and listen to VT Public’s report this morning (4-16-25) on Gov. Phil Scott’s remarks about this fellow, Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested in Colchester Monday by DHS authorities. Scott is trying to figure out whether or not Mahdawi is a danger to the public – as if it’s up to the Governor to make that assessment in defiance of federal prosecutors and immigration officials.
One thing is relatively certain. If Governor Scott manages to obstruct federal officials, and Mahdawi does cause harm to US/Vermont citizens, the Governor will, likely, be the first guy to say it wasn’t his fault. Just sayin’.
How does it feel when you reflect on the fact that these three unfortunate characters we’ve sent to Washington were overwhelmingly elected by us. When are we going to correct this mistake?
Not until the vote rigging in Vermont is exposed and corrected.
I seem to recall George Washington and Thomas Jefferson warning future Americans about the dangers of entangling alliances. This incident is a symptom of ignoring lessons of history.
Roll back to January 2017: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/obama-record-deportations-deporter-chief-or-not
I find it interesting when Obama took over from Bush, he made the effort to deport and the numbers seem to show he did put forth the effort. So what changed that his party is all up in arms now? Why did they not put up a stink and protest against Obama’s ramped up policy? Obama militarized law enforcement and there was not a peep of defiance or protest from their peanut gallery. Only now – why?
The populace is being dragged and deceived by prolific compromised liars. Can you see how they manipulate through fake outrage and performance art? Mind control tactics meant to confuse, distort reality, create cognitive dissonence, break one’s pysche, divide and conquer. It’s a vicious game with vicious consequences.
Speaking of the Bush-era, an interesting interview with former Rep. Curt Wheldon and Tucker Carlson about 9/11. The timing is interesting. Will we get the Truth of what really went on that day and who was actually behind all of it? We should ask ourselves why the “Axis of Evil” are now our friends, giving free money, free lawyers, free housing, weapons, money, and inviting them all to come right in and take over what is ours. Propaganda and pysops – it is how they all roll over us.
News articles state he is a green card holder- not a student visa. No one seems to be saying how he got his green card. Did he marry a USC, or some other avenue?
Yes I would like that question answered Bill How did he attain a green card ? We would like those questioned answered .
He was picked up in Colchester, not NYC.
JD Vance chose VT (“safe for everyone!”), for a ski vacation.
Tucker Carlson mentioned Burlington as a sanctuary city destination for the Martha’s Vineyard plane load from Texas.
You’d better believe Vermont is on the federal radar.
This guy may have a green card, but he is enciting violence on American soil on a college campus against a top U.S. friend, in Israel. I bet there is other bad behaviors from him. Bottomline, the Executive branch of our government, the President of the United States of America holds all the power on who and who cannot be in America and our borders, not the Congress and most certainly not a District court judge.
I could probably find a room for him in El Salvador
The Vermont Principals’ Assoc, has been on the opposite side of most clear thinking Vermonters for many years. If anyone is looking for examples of double speak and about most any subject one brings to their attention, this is the place to go. I once had a written response with two different answers to the same question. And the taxpayers allow them to get away with such stuff, even when the VPA victims are their kids in the end of it all? It is well past time to say adios to these joners.