New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted controversial anti-Israeli activist Mahmoud Khalil, together with his wife and young son, earlier this week for iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, at the mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion, the New York Post published on Tuesday.
“Last night, marking a year since his arrest, Rama (Mamdani’s wife) and I had the great honor of hosting Mahmoud, Noor, and their son Dean at Gracie Mansion to break the fast together,” Mamdani wrote in a post he published on his Instagram account on Monday.
The mayor also attached a festive photograph from the event, in which his wife can be seen holding a plate of food while standing next to Khalil, who sat and enjoyed his meal in the luxurious residence.
Khalil, a Syrian-born social activist and former master’s student at Columbia University, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the beginning of last year. He now faces the threat of deportation after the Trump administration accused him of committing fraud in his green card application.
The US administration, which claims that Khalil is a supporter of the Hamas organization, is using a rarely invoked legal provision that allows for the deportation of non-citizen residents if their beliefs and activities could pose a threat to the core interests of US foreign policy.
Mamdani acting as Khalil’s public advocate
According to the New York Post, Mamdani has for some time served as Khalil’s public advocate. The anti-Israeli activist spent a full three months in a federal detention facility in the state of Louisiana before a panel of three judges in New Jersey ruled last June that he should be allowed to continue his immigration process as normal.
“For Mahmoud Khalil, the past year has been marked by profound hardship, but also by great courage,” Mamdani continued writing on social media. “And yet, even in the face of this cruelty, there was also beauty. We saw New Yorkers raising their voices in solidarity. This is a city that refuses to look the other way. Mahmoud regained his freedom, and a father was finally reunited with his child.”
It should be noted that Khalil’s son — the couple’s first child, who is expected to celebrate his first birthday next month — was born while his father was being held in immigration custody several states away.
“Mahmoud is a New Yorker, and his natural place is here in New York City,” the mayor declared emphatically. As early as January this year, Mamdani addressed the issue during a press conference, where he said: “I see the attack against him as part of a broader attack on freedom of expression, one that is especially evident when that freedom is used to challenge policies related to human rights.”