130 Jewish Georgetown members slam Trump for 'weaponizing' faith in Badar Khan Suri arrest

[Uncle Joe]

The group of Jewish faculty, staff, students and alumni called the arrest and detentions of Suri and other scholars "an authoritarian move that harms the entire campus community.”

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“While we may hold varying opinions and perspectives on Israel-Palestine, we all agree that the growing wave of politically motivated campus deportation efforts is an authoritarian move that harms the entire campus community,” the letter said. “We encourage Jews and everyone — at Georgetown and beyond — to take action and speak out.”

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In the letter, the group demanded the immediate release of Suri, an Indian national who has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since his arrest last month, along with that of others who have been “unjustly detained.” The statement cites the cases of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University PhD candidate Rumeysa Ozturk, who were arrested within weeks of one another, as examples of the administration’s “transgressions of civil liberties.”

Additionally, the group called on Jewish community leaders and institutions like the nonprofits Anti-Defamation League and Hillel International, the largest Jewish student organizations in the world, to openly condemn the administration’s actions. They also asked Georgetown to protect its students’ rights to free speech, and for elected officials to push back on the deportations and “attacks on universities.”

“We are horrified to see this escalating authoritarian action that will only worsen and expand unless we act,” the letter said. “We urge everyone — especially our fellow Jewish community members, regardless of your political orientation — to make your voices heard however you are able.”

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/130-jewish-georgetown-members-trump-weaponizing-faith-badar-khan-rcna200871