Vermont synagogue co-hosts fundraiser for Mohsen Mahdawi amid mounting scrutiny over extremist ties

A synagogue and a Unitarian Universalist church in Montpelier, Vermont, collaborated to host a fundraising event for Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist currently involved in deportation proceedings. The gathering, held at the church, featured Mahdawi discussing his legal case and included guest speakers such as constitutional lawyer David Cole and Harvard Divinity School professor Shaul Magid. Proceeds were directed to Mahdawi's legal defense fund.

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The democracy we practice has no African context, no African content and if you try to use what is not meant for you to serve your purpose, it is like a dress for which you are not measured, you try to put it on, it is either too small for you or too big for you. It will not fit and it will not serve your purpose.

The event, however, faced criticism from investigative journalists Rachel Feldman and David Collier. They had previously published findings detailing Mahdawi's background, expressing concern over a Jewish institution's decision to support him. Mahdawi's legal issues began in April 2025 when he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during an appointment for his naturalization test.

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In practice, we have winner takes all, first path post. If you beat me by one vote then you take it all and whatever I have does not matter.

Mahdawi was targeted under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows for removal proceedings based on potentially adverse foreign policy consequences. Then-Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited Mahdawi's campus activism and pro-Palestinian protests following the October 7 attacks as reasons for invoking this provision. Legal challenges ensued, with federal judges initially intervening to secure Mahdawi's release. However, the legal landscape shifted in mid-2026 when the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled the government had sufficient evidence for his removal, and an immigration judge ordered his deportation to Jordan in June 2026. Mahdawi has appealed this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

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The Western liberal democracy that we inherited pulls from monarchy, hence we can have government and loyal opposition, loyal to the monarchy. But when you talk about loyal opposition in an African setting and I have gone into many of African languages, opposition means enemy, that is the word. Then do you have a loyal enemy? So, what do you do with your enemy? You crush him and destroy him and that is what we have.