Ahead of New York Senator Chuck Schumer’s March 17 visit to Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library to discuss his new book Antisemitism in America, local Jewish activists are planning a demonstration outside to assert that criticizing Israel is not antisemitic.
Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish lawmaker in Congress, has denounced campus protests against the United States’ support for Israel. Baltimore organizers view his visit as a key moment to challenge his rhetoric, arguing that by labeling student protests antisemitic, Schumer has helped legitimize Trump’s suppression of voices condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“As a Jew, I was raised hearing ‘never again,’ but now I’m watching Jewish American leaders like Senator Schumer send weapons to Israel to enable a genocide against Palestinians. It’s horrifying,” said Jon Monfred, a member of the local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which is organizing the rally. JVP is a Jewish group committed to fighting antisemitism and supporting Palestinian liberation.
Activists say Schumer’s portrayal of pro-Palestine protests as antisemitic has helped legitimize the Trump administration’s crackdown on student activism — which is widely seen as an attack on First Amendment rights.
On March 8, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a prominent student activist at Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, who is a permanent resident in the U.S. The agency is seeking to deport him despite his legal residency status and without any criminal charges — he is only accused without evidence by The White House of “siding with Hamas.”
Activists see Khalil’s case as an attack on due process and free speech, and argue that the administration, emboldened by Democratic leaders’ rhetoric, is using allegations of antisemitism to justify its attack on fundamental democratic rights. Student groups from campuses across Maryland report facing retaliation for their activism and fear they may be the administration’s next targets. They are also lobbying against a bill in Annapolis they say will further stifle their free speech.
“For me, and all other Jewish students and faculty in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil, the message couldn’t be clearer: we can all be safe only through collective liberation, and that includes a free Palestine,” said Nikki Morse, an organizer with the Baltimore Chapter of JVP.
JVP plans to rally outside the Enoch Pratt Free Library Central Branch from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 17.
They are demanding Schumer publicly oppose Trump’s Executive Order 14188, or Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, which calls for the deportation of students deemed antisemitic. Additionally, they are urging him to withdraw support for Antisemitism Awareness Act, which directs the Department of Education to adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when investigating alleged antisemitic acts on campus. The American Civil Liberties Union and other critics argue the bill is designed to suppress legitimate criticism of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories, which is considered illegal under international law.
The group is also calling on Schumer to sever ties with groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a civil rights group that praised Khalil’s detention but defended Elon Musk after his Nazi-salute-like hand gesture.
“Senator Schumer works with organizations like the ADL and AIPAC who support white supremacists like Trump and Elon Musk and Jewish supremacists like Netanyahu. If the Senator really cares about fighting antisemitism, it’s time to cut ties with these complicit organizations,” Baltimore resident Dr. Zackary Berger said in a press release.
Khalil’s detention has drawn widespread condemnation from immigrant rights groups, civil rights organizations, and student groups. On March 13, hundreds of protesters staged a sit-in in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City demanding his release; at least 98 were arrested. A federal judge in New York blocked Khalil’s deportation and ordered him to remain in ICE custody ahead of a March 27 deportation hearing.
Khalil was a lead organizer with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group that positioned Columbia at the epicenter of a national wave of student protests. The campaign led multiple student bodies at the university to pass non-binding resolutions calling for divestment from Israel. As part of a broader campus movement inspired by the anti-apartheid activism of the 1980s, the effort sought to challenge leading institutions’ financial ties to Israel.
His activism made him a primary target of pro-Israel groups, who organized a social media campaign urging the Trump administration to deport him. Days before his arrest, he appealed to Columbia University for protection, according to Zeteo, who reported he was the target of a doxxing and harassment campaign orchestrated by Columbia affiliates.
“Their attacks have incited a wave of hate, including calls for my deportation and death threats. I have outlined the wider context below, yet Columbia has not provided any meaningful support or resources in response to this escalating threat,” he wrote.
According to court filings, Khalil and his wife, who is eight months pregnant and a U.S. citizen, were returning home when plainclothes Department of Homeland Security agents arrested him, claiming his student visa had been revoked. When his wife showed documentation proving his status as a Green Card Holder and lawful permanent resident, agents reportedly informed them that his green card had been revoked, a step that legally requires a court ruling.
“It feels like my husband was kidnapped from home, and at a time when we were supposed to be planning to welcome our first child into this world,” Khalil’s wife, who requested anonymity in media coverage, said in a press release.
The Trump administration says it plans to deport more student protestors.
“The arrest, detention, and attempted deportation of a prominent Palestinian human rights activist for his constitutionally protected activity that the administration disagrees with is not only patently unlawful, it is a further dangerous step into modern-day McCarthyist repression. The courts must stop this lawlessness before this chilling form of repression expands further,” said Baher Azmy, Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, an organization that is helping represent Khalil.
Schumer, in a statement on social media platform X, said that while he strongly disagreed with Khalil’s views, the Trump administration failed to provide legal justification for its actions.
“I abhor many of the opinions and policies that Mahmoud Khalil holds and supports, and have made my criticism of the antisemitic actions at Columbia loudly known,” Schumer wrote. “If the administration cannot prove he has violated any criminal law to justify taking this severe action and is doing it for the opinions he has expressed, then that is wrong, they are violating the First Amendment protections we all enjoy and should drop their wrongheaded action.”
Activists argue that Schumer has contributed to the political climate enabling Khalil’s detention.
“A student was just abducted and disappeared by plainclothes officers as punishment for his political views, and yet Senator Schumer continues to spread the falsehood that our focus should be on the feelings of Zionist students who are uncomfortable when the State of Israel is criticized,” said Morse.
Khalil’s detention is part of a growing effort to silence dissent on campus. Days before his arrest, the Trump administration cut $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, accusing the school of failing to combat antisemitism. The Department of Education has also announced investigations into 60 universities, including Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, another epicenter of student activism since October 2023.
At the state level, Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill that could further restrict campus activism. The Maryland Campus Accountability Act (HB1462) has been framed by its sponsors as a way to combat campus antisemitism and protect students from harassment, but opponents argue that it could be used to limit free speech.
Student groups from JHU, UMBC, and the Maryland Institute College of Art have opposed the bill, arguing that it would disproportionately impact students of color, immigrant students, and those involved in pro-Palestinian activism. They also say it would result in increased police presence at student demonstrations, expand coordination between campus security and ICE, and allow anonymous reports of “hate speech” that could be used to target political protesters.
“An attack on student protest is a stand for exploitation and injustice. The student movement has historically struggled alongside oppressed peoples domestically and abroad,” student groups from across Maryland said in a joint statement posted on social media. “From the Civil Rights Movement to the protests against the U.S. invasion of Vietnam to successful divestment campaigns from apartheid South Africa, students have put their careers and lives on the line to take a stand for progressive change.”
Ahead of the March 17 protest, Morse emphasizes that their fight is about more than just campus crackdowns — it’s about the crisis unfolding in Gaza.
“With everything happening in the U.S. — from Khalil’s detention to the disturbing implications of Schumer’s Antisemitism Awareness Act, to Maryland’s attempt to repress campus protests — we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Right now, Israel has cut off aid, is starving our cousins, and is attempting ethnic cleansing. That’s the heart of why we do this work. That’s the heart of why we care. We have to stay grounded in our commitment to justice for Palestine — both now and in the future.”
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