Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil addressed a Yom Kippur event organized by anti-Zionist groups in New York City on Monday, calling for accountability regarding Israel’s actions toward Palestinians. Speaking from behind a podium bearing the phrase “For the sin of genocide we atone,” Khalil criticized U.S. support for Israel, which he said enabled violence and displacement against Palestinians.
Khalil described Israel’s policies as transgressions warranting atonement, highlighting the displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as what he characterized as engineered famine and acts of genocide. He concluded his remarks with a prayer for collective responsibility, saying, “May God, through us all, all of us, hold Israel accountable.”
Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander also spoke at the event, addressing attendees who identify as liberal and progressive Zionists. Lander urged them to confront their role in what he described as “complicity in [what I view as] genocide in Gaza.” Although acknowledging disagreements over the use of the term genocide and concerns about rising antisemitism, Lander pointed to widespread destruction in Gaza and ongoing hunger and violence in the West Bank as shared moral failings. “We have been culpable,” he stated.
Khalil has been a notable figure in debates over pro-Palestinian activism in the United States. In March 2025, U.S. immigration agents arrested him at Columbia University, where he is a lawful permanent resident, as part of a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian student activists. Khalil was not charged with any crime in connection with that incident.
Last week, Khalil and other activists filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Columbia University, accusing the institution of failing to protect students from harassment linked to their advocacy for Palestinian rights. The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court by Khalil, the SIPA Palestine Working Group, and its president, Mohammad Zubairi, alleges that Columbia violated federal law by not adequately addressing threats, doxxing, and other forms of harassment targeting students perceived as Arab or Muslim or associated with pro-Palestinian activism.
At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Khalil condemned the university for fostering what he called “rotten, institutionalized anti-Palestinian bigotry,” asserting that the issue extended to Columbia’s board of trustees. The university has not publicly responded to the lawsuit as of this time.