A fresh round of controversy is swirling around the Anti-Defamation League’s approval of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that led to the arrest of a Palestinian activist who helped organize Columbia University protests against Israel.
Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia until three months ago, was taken into custody Saturday night at his university-owned apartment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on an order which Trump confirmed came directly from him.
The arrest prompted the ADL to post on social media that they “appreciate the Trump Administration's broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism — and this action further illustrates that resolve by holding alleged perpetrators responsible for their actions.”
The ADL, which calls itself “the leading anti-hate organization in the world,” added that it hopes “this action serves as a deterrent to others who might consider breaking the law on college campuses or anywhere.”
But critics leveled the organization on social media over its alignment with MAGA.
“Well, there it is folks,” Max Socol, a community organizer, told his Blusky followers. “The official ADL position is support for Trump secret police to illegally detain and deport green card holders if they are part of pro-Palestine protests. If and when DHS starts doing this to citizens, count on the ADL to continue its support. This is who they are.”
Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, said the move means “the ADL is now to the right of Ann Coulter” while sharing screen shots on X of the far-right author citing constitutional rights concerns.
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“There’s almost no one I don’t want to deport, but, unless they’ve committed a crime, isn’t this a violation of the first amendment?” Coulter posted on X.
Author Joseph Fink took his criticism a step further. “The ADL is a Nazi organization,” he wrote on Blusky.
Along the same lines, Illinois attorney Sheryl Weikal, who also refers to herself on Bluesky as “The Leftist Lawyer,” wrote, “The ADL is a neo-fascist organization, full stop.”
“Again, and I don’t say this lightly, ADL is now a kapo organization,” policy consultant Ned Resnikoff posted on Bluesky.
The ADL says its mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all,” according to its website.
The organization added in their statement Monday that they “firmly believe there should be swift and severe consequences for those who provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, incite violence in support of terrorist activities, or conceal their identities in order to harass and intimidate Jewish individuals and institutions with impunity.”