Jewish student slams Mahmoud Khalils actions as opposite of free speech and says Cornell anti-Israel mob not a surprise

Federally detained Columbia University agitator Mahmoud Khalil’s case is “not about free speech,” a Jewish student told The Post — after his school, Cornell, was the latest to be caught up in disruptive, anti-Israel protests.Sam Friedman, a 21-year-old junior at Cornell’s College of Engineering, was at the Ithaca, New York, campus’ Bailey Hall on Monday night when a mob shouted down the Israeli and Palestinian speakers who had gathered for the event entitled “Pathways to Peace.”But despite the hosts’ noble intentions, and the participation of both sides in the conflict, including former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former prime minister of the Palestinian authority, Salam Fayyad, Monday’s talk quickly descended into chaos.“I’m a big free speech advocate.I think free speech is really important, and what these people did at Cornell is the opposite of free speech,” Friedman told The Post.

“They intentionally blocked people from speaking freely.”The organizers of the protests and walk-outs at Cornell, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), now face suspension as a registered campus group, the college’s interim president, Michael Kotlikoff confirmed.It comes as fury has erupted on many campuses across the US following the arrest of Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil on Saturday by ICE agents for his role in anti-Israel campus protests where sick flyers glorifying Hamas were distributed.The Trump administration believes the US has legal justification to deport Khalil, 30, a green card-holding Palestinian who received his graduate degree from the Ivy League school in December.It’s a position Friedman supports.“In the case of Khalil being deported, this is not about free speech, it’s about material support for terrorism,” Friedman said.“It’s not about free speech when you’re vandalizing and destroying stuff.”This week, Cornell University was one of six Ivy League universities featured on a list of more than 60...