#burning of palestinian flag

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

Source

[eretzyisrael]

[wingsofhcpe]

istg if they allow that bitch to sing that stupid song on stage I'm burning the eurovision hqs to the ground, where's the "eUroVisIon Isn'T PolItIcALl" bullshit now huh??

[nb-marceline]

watching american politicians dickride israel like their lives depend on it doesn’t surprise me given this country’s own history but seeing just how far they’ll go to gaslight ppl into thinking that netanyahu and his cronies are anything more than a bunch of racist war criminals makes me feel like i’m going insane

[thoughtportal]

This is a developing news story and may be updated as more information is obtained. If you value such information, please support this Substack.

On Dec. 1, a woman immolated herself with a Palestinian flag outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta.

Now, according to the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, the woman — referred to in their report as “Jane Doe” — is alive and “in stable condition” at Grady Memorial Hospital, where she has been since the immolation.

After repeated requests for her name, the department stated to this reporter in an email that it “does not disclose the identities of victims”. Repeated inquiries to Grady, which is a public hospital, went unanswered. The hospital houses the Walter L. Ingram Burn Center.

“Jane Doe” is 27.

When asked if they had made any comment to tell the public that she was still alive this entire time, the official at Atlanta Fire Rescue Department said they “shared the last updated with local media via email on 12/21/23. The release stated: ‘The victim remains hospitalized in critical condition. The security guard, who attempted to assist the burn victim, has been released from the hospital.’” Several internet searches on that quote produce no results. This would also indicate that "Jane Doe" went from critical to stable condition without public notice. 

Aaron Bushnell immolated himself at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, explaining “I will no longer be complicit in genocide” and shouting “Free Palestine!” repeatedly as he burned alive. So, his case — unlike many other self-immolations including Gregory Levey, Raymond Moules, Timothy T. Brown, Malachi Ritscher and others — has received some attention. Thus, “Jane Doe” being ignored fits with the usual pattern. Bushnell is the exception — probably because he livestreamed it. See “Ignoring Immolators Lulls the Society to Sleep.”

As Bushnell was burning himself alive, an officer pointed a gun at him, barking orders as if he constituted a threat. A security guard, Michael Harris, sustained injuries working to rescue “Jane Doe” — but there were similarities, where she was actually viewed as a potential threat.

At one point, the police report for “Jane Doe” refers to it as being a case of “arson”.

Much of the media coverage and general discussion of her self-immolation in December focused on if she had done damage. The Atlanta Police Chief said: “We believe this building remains safe, and we do not see any threat here.” The Israeli government released a statement: “It is tragic to see the hate and incitement toward Israel expressed in such a horrific way.”

Police records indicate that they obtained a search warrant and entered an apartment they believed to be associated with “Jane Doe” — initially using a drone:

The drone was able to relay information as to the layout and the belongings inside. After it was deemed "safe" entry was made with bomb technicians. While clearing the apartment no improvised explosive devices were located.

The police report also noted:

During the search a Quran was found in the bedroom along with a [sic] Arabic dictionary and a Hebrew dictionary. The bedroom bookshelf contained books related to fiction and fantasy. A "Drug use for grown ups" book was on the bookshelf as well. Two journals were seized from the bedroom. A thumbdrive was seized from the bedroom as well. A laptop computer was seized from the kitchen counter. A copy of the search warrant was left in the living room of the apartment. The front door [of] the apartment was secured before law enforcement left the premises.

When pressed for more information in compliance with an Open Records Request under Georgia law, Atlanta Fire Rescue Department claimed: “There is an ongoing and active investigation for the incident in question, which is why the only releasable information has been shared via the incident report. Investigative documentation is not available for release until the investigation is closed.”

[blackpearlblast]

[ID: drawings of a golem animated by a palestinian flag painted on its forehead. it is seen: holding out its arms protectively in front of a crowd of children, the children also hold each other supportively; catching an air strike missile from the air and throwing it away or crushing it in its fist; turning its back so that a child can warm her hands by the earth oven built into its back, food in a pot is cooking on the fire and a boy holds a cup of steaming tea to his face and enjoys the aroma; clearing away rubble so a man can help up his wife who was buried underneath, she is clutching a baby to her chest; stooping down to look at a kitten a young boy is holding up to show it; and dissolving small flakes of clay from its finger into a glass of water, purifying it. end ID]

@fairuzfan asked people to create and share art for the strike. i wrote an artist statement and then set about trying to draw what i envisioned. artist statement below.

This golem is a protector that I wish I could gift to the children and adults in Gaza. The flag on its forehead is to show that love for the Palestinian people is an animating force for people fighting for a free Palestine all over the world, especially for those in Palestine who are trying to free themselves and their people. Love is the motivation for the call for a free Palestine, not hatred like people try to claim. It is very strong and fast and can catch air strikes out of midair and crush them to dust or throw them back in the direction they came from. It can lift all the rubble of a collapsed building very quickly so nobody can get trapped underneath. It has an earth oven in its back with an ever-burning flame that people can use to warm themselves and cook food and heat water to use to bathe themselves or make tea. Pieces of its clay can be crumbled up and mixed into water to make even the most brackish and unclean water pure and safe to drink.

The golem is always a bit of a tragic figure so I don't imagine it staying around forever once Palestine is free and it is no longer needed. I think it would use its great strength to help rebuild the destroyed houses, churches, schools, universities, hospitals, and mosques and then dive into the Jordan river and dissolve. It would clean the river of all pollution and make the water splash up over all the newly replanted fruit trees, causing them to grow big and strong. Its love for Palestine and its people can be tasted in the fruit they grow for generations.

I choose a specifically Jewish icon of protection because of how it feels to witness such horrors done in the supposed name of Judaism and the Jewish people. For many anti-zionist Jews, we feel like we are acting directly within the teachings of our stories and communities by opposing this genocide. It is difficult to understand how the very people and institutions who taught us these values now fight against them so fiercely. While obviously I would still oppose Israel were I not Jewish, the way I oppose Israel is directly informed by my Jewishness. I hope that someday, somehow, Judaism can bring as much joy and support to the Palestinian people as it has brought grief and destruction. That Jewish symbols used in the name of love and justice will bear more significance than the ones used in shows of hatred. Knowing the depth of the harm caused, I do not know if this is possible. But this artwork and everything I have dedicated myself to these past few months and continue to dedicate myself to in the future is born from this hope. I love you. Thank you for being on this planet with me. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! And it will be beautiful.

[gladiopsyop]

Palestinian demonstrators burn the American flag as they hold up the Iraqi national flag, during an all women's protest in suport of Iraq in Gaza City, 07 April 2003

[sadbicth]

israel posted a video of them giving water bottles to palestinians on a beach, then destroyed their luggage and shot at them after they stopped recording.

israel posted a photo of one of their soldiers "assisting" with an elderly man, then they shot him twice in the back and killed him.

in 2015, the idf posted pr photos of an israeli soldier giving water to an elderly palestinian woman, only for them to execute her after the photo was taken.

in 2005, an idf soldier emptied his rifle into a 13-year-old palestinian schoolgirl. he said he would have done the same thing if she was 3-years-old. he was acquitted of all charged.

israel claimed that hamas beheaded 40 israeli babies and then a month later cut off power to a palestinian hospital where premature babies were on incubators.

israel bombed a group of children collecting rainwater.

israel shot and killed two palestinian children playing with their scooter.

israel shot a hard of hearing girl in the face with a stun grenade and broke her jaw.

israel is using bombs with blades that are designed to cause maximum damage to the person in range.

israel forced medical workers at al-Nasr medical center to leave babies in incubators in order to evacuate the hospital they were bombing.

israel turned off power to hospitals in palestine, forcing nurses and doctors to use their phone flashlights when treating patients.

israel raised their flag over Al Shifa hospital.

israel has blown up the chambers of the palestinian legislative council.

israel targeted a "suspicious vehicle containing several terrorists”, meanwhile the only people in the car were three girls, ages 10, 12, and 14, their grandmother, and their mother. the only survivor was the three girls' mother.

israel planted a copy of mein kampf in a children's bedroom in a gazan house they claim hamas was hiding in.

israel poured fake blood onto the floor of an israeli child's bedroom and claimed hamas killed them.

israeli soldiers posted a video of them dancing on gazan graves.

israel posted a video showing a calendar in a palestinian children's hospital was a hamas guard list because it was written in arabic.

israel was using white phosphorus on hospitals.

israel bombed a refugee camp.

israel has burned olive trees in palestine.

israel has put cement into the water supply of palestine.

israel claimed that they found tunnels under Al Shifa hospital, only for it to be exposed that those tunnels are actually in sweden.

israel built a bunker and command room under Al Shifa hospital in 1983, only for them to now say that they are hamas tunnels.

israeli police arrested an israeli high school teacher, who posted on facebook expressing sympathy with palestinian civilians who have been killed.

israeli soldiers filmed themselves throwing a stun grenade into a palestinian mosque.

we are witnessing a genocide in real time framed under the guise of stopping hamas. israel has been terrorizing palestine for as long as israel has existed, but their access to technology and social media has made it much easier to fool people into supporting them.

meanwhile, noah schnapp is posting that zionism is sexy and celebrities are standing with israel. just absolutely twisted shit.

edit: for those who would like sources, my twitter is alliiesmith. i have retweeted everything i’ve mentioned. i apologize for not providing this sooner

edit 2: i’ve had some people in the replies and reposts pointing out that linking my twitter seems like promotion. i just wanted to clear up that that was not my intention. i’ve been retweeting resources and news much faster than i’m able to add to this post, and i thought that my twitter profile could be something of a hub for information. i don’t care if you follow me, but i think scrolling through and seeing what i’ve retweeted could be helpful.

[boreal-sea]

I’m out of words to say.

So many people wondered “how could Hitler have convinced so many people the Jews were their enemy?”

On November 7th, 1938 a Jewish student killed a German diplomat. In response, Hitler ordered the Nazis to commit mass acts of violence against Jews across Germany and Austria. This violence was not against the single student who had done the killing, but against all Jews in Germany. Jews were all collectively blamed and punished for his action. This pogrom is know as Kristallnacht.

On November 7th, 2024 a group of Jewish football fans shouted an offensive chant and were observed pulling down a Palestinian flag. Allegedly in response to this, locals attacked all Jews in the area. Not just the ones who did the chant or pulled down the flag, not even just Jewish football fans, but ALL Jews in the area. All Jews were held responsible for the actions of a few. Now, I said “allegedly in response”. That is because this attack was not a response. It was premeditated. Even if every Jew in Amsterdam had been on their best behavior that night, this attack still would have occurred.

Kristallnacht was justified as a response to murder. The Amsterdam pogrom was justified as a response to racism. It doesn’t matter that the Amsterdam pogrom was premeditated - the “bad behavior” of a few Jews justified that premeditation. But you cannot justify a pogrom. Collective punishment is always wrong.

So when you ask “how could Germans have been fooled so easily”, look at these two events. How could it happen? Very easily. Find a spark, and let the fire burn.

[beansprean]

My entry for What We Create In The Shadows vol 4! @wwcitszine

It was a privilege to be able to contribute to this zine among such creative, talented, and fun artist and writers! The mods truly did an incredible job and the zine is BEAUTIFUL! Highly recommend getting a physical copy if you can. :)

You can still get WWCITS until July 28th! All proceeds to to PFLAG!

(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: Detailed drawing of a city street at night; Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja, and Colin Robinson are in the foreground, running for their lives towards the viewer. Chasing them (having caught up to them, really) is vampire Guillermo flying through the air on bat wings, silhouetted by the glowing full moon behind him. He is grinning maniacally with his clawed hands curled upward in triumph, eyes glowing a burning orange as he poses mid-flight, chest puffed out with his newfound power. Nandor is in the front, arms pumping, eyes wide with fear as he looks straight ahead. At his elbow is Laszlo, looking over his shoulder in alarm, one hand clamped around Nadja's wrist to drag her on behind him. Nadja's other hand is holding up her skirts and cradling Nadja doll potato-sack style in her elbow as she rushes along. She looks upward with a snarl, distracted, as Guillermo looms above her. Lagging behind is Colin Robinson, huffing and puffing as he tries to keep up.

The city street behind them is full of easter eggs. A kiosk on the left behind Laszlo is covered in flyers: fundraiser to cover medical bills for Toby, a recruitment poster for the Mosquito Club, an add for reanimations for $350 cash, a Go Flip Yourself ad, a comptroller campaign poster for Sean covered up by one for Colin covered up by one for Evie, a newspaper article about Morrigan Manor, a Wicked poster, a flyer for the familiar mixer, a missing poster for Jenna, a Found poster for Guillermo's bicycle, a handwritten ad that says "Djinn to good home, call Gyermo" with a photo of the djinn lamp, and several stickers including one that says 'werewolves not swearwolves, a Palestinian flag, and the s5 moon promo shot. Sitting atop the kiosk is a frog with curly brown hair - la Guillerana, and above it on the brick wall is a black poster featuring a hooded figure with round glowing eyes that says "The Night Market: if you know, you know." The roof of the building has a clothesline stretched across it where the Cloak of Duplication is hanging. The next building has glass doors and windows across the first floor with soft ambient lighting coming from within. A foldable chalkboard outside says 'closed for privat pardy'. The name of the restaurant is printed above the door: 'love at first bite'. The second floor is a grid of square windows with the blinds drawn, a single ad for Rapula Realty in an upper window. A single anonymous finger parts the blinds on a lower window to peek out. The third floor has three windows and fairy lights draped across the front. A purple flag that says 'human wellness inquire within' hangs from the first window, and the second has one foggy pane with the word 'help' written on it backwards. Black Peter the goat is on the roof, front hooves planted on the ledge to look out at the running vampires in the street. The following building has a grid of windows and a temporary vinyl sign stretched across it that says 'Urgent Care'. More buildings stretch out behind to the horizon.

On the right, there is a small newspaper vending machine with the headlines 'Flying Man Spotted' and 'Strange meteor lands in New Brighton'. The adjacent building has four stories, the only entrance a set of stairs going straight down. Neon pink lights pour from the doorway and lowermost windows. Above the doorway with an arrow pointing down is a neon sign for Nadja's. Below it, a poster exclaiming 'Baby Colin Live!' One of the middle windows has a sign that says 'Nadja and Laszlo Human Music Group performing Thursday nights'. Hanging from the roof precariously by both hands and looking towards the ground in terror is Patton Oswalt. One of the Baron's mutant children is sitting happily on the ledge nearby. A tree is on the roof and has some kind of net hanging from it. The next building is corporate and mostly windows, the bottommost portion open and flanked by yellow poles, a yellow and black divider blocking the entrance. An awning above it says 'Jesk Parking'. Inside, there is what looks to be a pile of rats. Two bats fly past. A vinyl sign stretched over the building front is an ad showing a man hugging a pillow that says "Get the Guy Pillow! Buy 100 get 1 free! Guys only!" The roof turns suddenly to greco-roman architecture, a row of stone columns lining the edge. Sitting at the very top are the two gargoyles having a riveting conversation. The next building is 3 stories and has a trans flag hanging from one corner and a progress flat from the other. The first floor has an alcove with a door flanked by two windows, one featuring shelves with jars of white liquid, the other a palmistry poster that reads 'free palm reading with every ejaculation'. The store name above reads 'Satchel Serafina' More text on the second floor reads 'Home of Memo's Man Milk, gathered lovingly by hand.' Beyond this building is a small grassy area behind a fence with a dead old tree and some graffiti that says 'Simon the Devious' with a crown. There is a nearby sewer drain under the sidewalk where a hand is reaching out. More buildings stretch out behind to the horizon. /end ID

[secular-jew]

I’m a Palestinian American. Here’s Why I Can’t Support the Anti-Israel Protesters. By Elizabeth Gillanders. August 16, 2024

Walking past Union Station in the nation’s capital, I recently was met with a heartbreaking sight. Vandals had defaced the Columbus Memorial Fountain with spray paint, writing the words “Hamas is coming” in big red letters.

Trash and signs discarded by anti-Israel protesters littered the ground. A burnt shopping cart stood off to one side with piles of ash beneath it.

Most depressing, however, were the three bare flag poles that had been robbed of their American flags. Protesters had burned the flags, the only remnant a charred piece of fabric atop another pile of ash.

This was the aftermath of the July 24 “pro-Palestinian” protests in Washington, D.C., organized in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address that day to a joint meeting of Congress.

As an American of Palestinian heritage, some expect me to cheer on these people. They expect me to condemn the U.S., hate Israel, and support Hamas, a terrorist organization dedicated to wiping out the Jewish state.

But these expectations don’t represent me, nor my family.

I inherit my Palestinian background from my mother’s side of the family; her parents emigrated to America from the Middle East. My grandma was born in Israel and later moved to Ramallah in the West Bank and eventually to Jordan.

After arriving in America in her 20s, my grandma worked hard to become a U.S. citizen. She learned the English language while raising my mother and uncle. She opened a restaurant with my grandpa, lovingly named the Chicken Pantry, in Hamtramck, Michigan. When that business closed, my grandma worked as a real estate agent before eventually retiring in the land of prosperity.

America brought my family prosperity. My grandparents taught my mother to “kiss the ground you walk on” because they knew what a blessing America is.

They passed this lesson on to me.

Although many seem to think that my Palestinian heritage should cause me to align with protests that supposedly are “pro-Palestinian,” it’s precisely because of my heritage that I cannot do that.

Israel went to war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip only after Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,200 and kidnapped about 250 in a rampage of rape, torture, and murder Oct. 7 in southern Israel.

About 10 months later, as pro-Hamas protesters march in this country to “free Palestine,” they call for the death of America. As they burn the American flag, they burn all that my family has worked to achieve.

As the protesters pledge their allegiance to Hamas, they encourage a group that my grandmother wouldn’t hesitate to call a terrorist organization that operates with a strategy of human sacrifice.

Think about it. Why are there no Hamas military bases in the Gaza Strip adjoining Israel? Because the terrorists hide behind their own people.

They dress like noncombatants in Gaza. They establish bunkers in hospitals. They commandeer ambulances for transportation.

These actions are all in direct violation of Article 18 of the Geneva Conventions, the international pacts that set minimum standards during armed conflict for the treatment of civilians, soldiers, and prisoners of war.

One example is Hamas’ use of Gaza’s most important hospital, Al-Shifa. According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Hamas uses a bunker under the hospital as a base for military operations. This not only makes the hospital a target, but takes medical resources needed for the sick.

In contrast, the Israel Defense Forces have given civilians in Gaza opportunities to evacuate and warned of impending attacks. No other nation goes this far to protect enemy civilians.

How can I support pro-Hamas demonstrators who wish to end the nation that brought my family so much? How can I back a terrorist group that uses its own people as human shields? How can I hate Israel, when the IDF has worked to keep Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way?

I believe it’s important to point out that, contrary to popular belief, not all Arabs think the same. Some of us do see this conflict differently. And our thoughts and beliefs should not be snuffed out because they go against the “narrative.”

To some, perhaps our stance makes us walking oxymorons. But we are proud ones, nonetheless.

[fiercynn]

“The settlers come wearing soldiers’ clothes, which is a new strategy.”

Since the war started, there have been more and more daily attacks by settlers against the people living in Masafer Yatta [a region of rural hamlets in the south of the occupied West Bank]. We are just farmers, many of us living in caves and tents. I am 18 years old, and I have lived here all my life. We have no way to defend ourselves from the settlers, who are fully armed thanks to [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir. They feel that now is their chance. The war is happening, and they have the green light to kill any Palestinian they see. They feel that no one is going to care about these people in Masafer Yatta. They come with the army’s protection from the settlement of Havat Ma’on, just five minutes from my village of Tuwani. They attack people’s sheep and demolish their tents and raid their homes. They attacked my family in our house: They came in and shot at my dad. Luckily he survived, but they broke his hand by hitting him with the butt of a gun. On Friday, they shot my cousin, who is still in the hospital. The settlers come wearing soldiers’ clothes, which is a new strategy; my dad only recognized them as settlers because they were the same people who attacked him last year. The settlers and the army are now controlling all the land around Tuwani. They planted an Israeli flag in the high mountains nearby, and they have blocked all the routes in and out of the area. They don’t even allow us to access our donkeys, or to give them food or water. They’re saying this is state land and it’s a war. It’s dangerous to leave the town. Some people are trying to travel through the mountains, because they need to reach hospitals, or to reach markets to get food and water. But the way through the mountains is bumpy, and they get shot at. No one can sleep at night; we are afraid that the settlers will come and burn down our homes. [x]

— Luna (pseudonym), as told to Amos; Tuwani; October 17th

[sonyaheaneyauthor]

I know russia is panicking at the moment and pumping out more anti-Ukrainian propaganda than they have since February 2022, but WHY are people still falling for it?

They've revived some of their propaganda stories from back in 2014, they're that desperate. All the lies about Ukrainians burning russians alive and bombing themselves.

I know the pro-Palestinian community tends to live in an echo chamber infested with Kremlin propaganda, but I didn't expect to wake up this morning, check Twitter, and see my feed full of people with Palestinian flags in their bios sharing the most heinous, genocidal lies about Ukraine.

People who live down the road from me even sharing it! Well-known journalists. People from as far away from Ukraine as Tasmania!

Everyone in this world needs to take an internet literacy class, and learn to check their sources. Because if there's one thing in the world russia is good at, it's finding useful idiots in the West.

If you're "anti-genocide", then you shouldn't be vocally supporting russia's genocide in Ukraine. If you're cheering for russia, I'm sorry to tell you, but that makes you PRO-genocide.

I will again share this story, and suggest that every Westerner reads it:

[ace-hell]

Something i love to see is palestinians and pro palestinians chanting "decolonization" with images of al aqsa and burned israeli flag

when in fact al aqsa was build in the beginning arab colonism all throughout levant by muslim settlements ON TOP of the jewish holiest temple like 50 years AFTER the prophet Muhammad died (died in 632 AD the mosque was built in 685-715 AD) when, apparently, al aqsa is supposedly an area near MECCA which is in saudi arabia.

And the fact that at the beginning muslims called for jews to COME BACK to judea after they were exiled by the romans and Christians. They tried to help the jews- the indigenous ppl- just to years later cast the dhimni laws and have horrible restrictions and at some point intifadas and even genocide against the jews.

And now they call jews colonizers and israel an occupied land like gurl

The disrespect and lack of history knowledge and self awareness 😭

P. S. Some of you don't understand or know what diaspora is and it's laughable and disappointing

[mariacallous]

During his rambling and interminably long speech to Congress last week, Trump bragged that he had “stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America.”

Unfortunately, the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, makes clear that devotion to free speech doesn’t include the right to protest if Trump doesn’t like it. Khalil’s green card has been revoked, and he’s currently in ICE custody.

The administration has tried to dress up Khalil’s arrest as motivated by national security concerns, but their statements about his alleged transgressions show it’s far more about suppressing speech.

Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the arrest by saying that Khalil had organized “group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish-American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda, flyers with the logo of Hamas.” White House Counselor Alina Habba’s rationale was even more transparently bogus. She claimed on Fox that foreign students are not allowed to "hand out pamphlets in our country and try to infiltrate those terroristic thoughts ... and if you bring that into our country, you can get the hell out."

But far from being a threat to national security, Khalil’s actions are the exact sort of free speech that’s supposed to be protected.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the right to assemble and protest is a cornerstone of the First Amendment. The Court has protected the hateful speech of the Westboro Baptist Church, holding they had a right to picket funerals of soldiers and display inflammatory signs like “Thank God for IEDs” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.” It struck down a Minnesota ordinance that prohibited speech that “arouses anger, alarm, or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, or gender.” It ruled that burning the American flag is protected speech.

Khalil’s arrest is bad on its face, but it’s also wrapped up with the administration’s fake commitment to combatting antisemitism. Indeed, Trump has trafficked in antisemitic tropes for years. The motivation behind Khalil’s arrest isn’t genuine concern for Jewish students. It’s opposition to lawful protests on campuses and elsewhere — protests Trump fears could present a challenge to his authoritarian aspirations.

Protesting is not a crime

The administration isn’t even alleging that Khalil broke any laws. In fact, an unnamed White House official told The Free Press that “the allegation here is not that he was breaking the law” but instead that he was a “threat to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States.”

It’s not surprising that the administration is talking to The Free Press, Bari Weiss’s website that is ostensibly dedicated to free speech but applauds police cracking down on protesters. And of course Weiss has made a career out of attacking Palestinians, starting with her time in college where she agitated to get professors fired for pro-Palestinian views.

Since there’s no way to make any criminal charges stick to Khalil, the administration has resorted to citing a law that allows deportation of “an alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” This allowed Marco Rubio to revoke Khalil’s green card so he could be deported.

The use of this provision is exceedingly rare. According to the New York Times, it’s been invoked exactly once, by former President Bill Clinton in 1995, when he tried to deport a former Mexican government official, Mario Ruiz Massieu. Massieu sued, leading to a lower court decision declaring the provision unconstitutional because it was impossible for someone to know if their “mere presence here would or could cause adverse foreign policy consequences when our foreign policy is unpublished, ever-changing, and often highly confidential.” The judge who penned those words is none other than Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister. The case was later overturned on unrelated grounds.

Earlier this week, Rubio said that people like Khalil “don’t have a right to be in the United States to begin with” and that they would never have been let in if they had explained they supported Hamas or intended to protest. Rubio is also playing tough guy over at Elon Musk’s Nazi bar, posting that the administration “will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”

The problem here is that no one has explained what “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” are at stake here. Yes, the United States supports Israel’s war against Hamas, but alleging that protests in the United States opposing the war somehow damage national security interests is absurd. Yet the administration is framing any opposition to Israel as synonymous with active support for Hamas.

In Khalil’s case, there’s no evidence that he has even been in contact with Hamas, much less provided material support to the organization. One of his lawyers, Amy Greer, explained that communicating with Hamas would be “completely opposite” to Khalil’s values.

Khalil’s arrest has highlighted the arbitrary and cruel nature of immigration detention. He was arrested in New York, then whisked away to New Jersey, then sent to an immigration facility in Louisiana, where he remains. The government sends people from all over the country to Louisiana, which houses over 6,000 immigrants in facilities where abuse of detainees is rampant. Flinging detainees all around the county is a common tactic by ICE, and it allows the government to charge detainees in jurisdictions far away from where they live.

Khalil sued the government in the Southern District of New York, saying his arrest violated the First Amendment and his right to due process under the Fifth Amendment. He asked to be released while the case was pending and that any proceedings be heard in New York. Despite the lawsuit, Khalil was not allowed to have private conversations with his lawyers for several days. It took a court ruling to get him two private calls with his attorneys. Judge Jesse M. Furman blocked Khalil’s deportation earlier this week, but declined to release him from the Louisiana facility where he’s being held.

Khalil’s attorneys have asked that he be returned to New York for immigration proceedings. Those proceedings are separate from his lawsuit and will be heard by an immigration judge. The notice requiring Khalil to appear for an initial immigration hearing in Louisiana on March 27 contains no details whatsoever and just repeats that Khalil’s presence in the country “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

As Khalil holds a green card, making him a lawful permanent resident of the United States, he’s entitled to due process before he is deported. An immigration judge, not Marco Rubio or Donald Trump or anyone else, is the only one that can take Khalil’s green card away. Typically, green card holders are deported over criminal convictions or engaging in, or threatening to engage in, violent terrorist activities like kidnapping. The government still bears the burden of showing Khalil should be deported.

They’ve got nothing

Thus far the administration has provided nothing save for vague, unsupported assertions that Khalil distributed “pro-Hamas propaganda” fliers. Leavitt told reporters she had these terrifying fliers but couldn’t possibly show them to reporters because it would harm the “dignity” of the briefing room. After throwing out that fact-free assertion, Leavitt suddenly decided she couldn’t answer any additional questions because it’s an intelligence matter.

The administration refuses to provide Khalil with any information about which of his actions threatens US foreign policy interests. The White House is also trying to undermine Khalil’s ability to defend himself. Although Khalil is a New York resident and was arrested there, the administration says his case should be heard in New Jersey, where he was for just a few brief hours, or Louisiana, where he’s currently held. Trump’s personal antipathy to the Southern District of New York court is well-known and unsurprising, given that prosecutors pursued multiple criminal cases against him there.

The administration has other reasons for trying to get the case out of New York. As Lawfare explained, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New York, is likely a more favorable venue for Khalil than the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Louisiana. The Fifth Circuit is the most conservative appellate court in the country, with 75 percent of its judges being appointed by Republican presidents, including six appointed by Trump. Conducting proceedings in Louisiana also, as Khalil’s lawyers noted, isolates him from his home and community of support.

Khalil is the first person the administration is trying to deport over pro-Palestinian protests, but he won’t be the last.

The Department of Homeland Security has demanded that Columbia University help it identify other “pro-Hamas” students. Add to this that Rubio is already saber-rattling about going after Hamas supporters and it’s clear that this administration, far from being a bastion of free speech, is actually waging a full-fledged war on political speech it doesn’t like. It flies in the face of the protections of the First Amendment, and is intended to terrify activists into remaining quiet. There’s honestly nothing more un-American than this.