Pro-Palestinian protesters near Columbia University in Manhattan, February 2, 2024. (Luke Tress)

(JTA) — When a Cornell University pro-Palestinian activist suing to stop his deportation cited the far-right pro-Israel group Betar in his lawsuit, the group rejoiced in its apparent impact — and said it had “reason to believe” that two other activists were “on the short list of those who will shortly be deported.”

On Monday, ICE agents arrested one of them, Mohsen Mahdawi, during an appointment that Mahdawi had been told was part of the process to become a U.S. citizen.

“As we said,” Betar tweeted as the news broke. It said in a subsequent tweet, “We confirm we provided information on this jihadi and many more.”

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The arrest of Mahdawi, a Palestinian from the West Bank who helped found the Palestinian Students Union at Columbia University, is adding to the visibility of far-right pro-Israel groups such as Betar and Canary Mission at a time when their advocacy is dovetailing with the Trump administration’s actions.

It also underscores that the Trump administration is continuing to identify, target and seek to deport more people who were involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses. Already, the State Department says it has revoked the visas of 400 students, many of them involved in the protests, and on Friday the effort notched a major win when a judge ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, another Columbia protest leader, could be deported on the basis of the government’s argument that his beliefs or actions, while “otherwise lawful,” undercut U.S. policy against antisemitism.

Like Khalil, Mahdawi is a permanent resident with a green card, not a student on a visa. Mahdawi, who is Buddhist, was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and came to the United States in 2014. He said he had seen a friend killed by Israeli soldiers when he was 12 and had been shot in the leg by an Israeli soldier when he was 15.

His critics note that he did not denounce Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and that he had appeared alongside activists from Within Our Lifetime, a hardline anti-Israel group whose activity has frequently included antisemitism, on Columbia’s campus.

His defenders, including his attorneys in a filing on Monday, note that he has specifically denounced antisemitism, the ostensible reason for the Trump administration’s crackdown.

“To be antisemitic is unjust,” he said during a December 2023 appearance on “60 Minutes.” “The fight for freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand-in-hand because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“The fight for freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand-in-hand because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” says Mohsen Mahdawi, co-president of Columbia's Palestinian Students Union. https://t.co/xh91MwzdHe pic.twitter.com/CsBehwMWEc

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) December 6, 2023

The group Israelis for Peace NYC, an anti-occupation group, posted about Mahdawi’s arrest soon after it place. “Before the barrage of fake news begins we would like to stress that Mahdawi is a peace activist (who has been outspoken against antisemitism),” the group wrote. “We know this because we had met and talked about how to possibly work together to promote safety and equality for everyone on the land.”

Anxious that he would be arrested, Mahdawi had sought support from both his legal team and the three members of Congress from Vermont, where he has been living. The three lawmakers — including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Becca Balint, who are Jewish — issued a statement decrying his arrest and calling for his immediate release.

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