The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom holds a spectrum of views on Palestine and Israel. We recognize the complexity of the issues, the passions they evoke and endeavor to hold space to hear each other. We believe any response to the conflict must be based on human rights, safety, and self-determination for Palestinians and Israelis alike. One of the Sisterhood’s core missions is to stand up to anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim bigotry and as Americans we value the rule of law and the Constitution.

We are outraged that a recent Columbia University graduate, Palestinian Mahmoud Khalil, a legal resident of this country, has been arrested and detained for his peaceful political activism. We are united in our view that this action is a blow to both our communities. We further condemn the punitive freezing of $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University. These events have fundamentally altered the nature of free expression, academic freedom and free assembly on campus and across the country. Authoritarian federal overreach and disregard for due process puts all minority communities at risk.

It especially concerns us that this action claims to be part of an effort to fight antisemitism. We acknowledge that antisemitism and anti-Jewish hate are very real phenomena, but so are Islamophobia and anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate, and we believe that the only way to combat both is by working together to protect freedom of speech for all of us. We strongly oppose actions like the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil or like the withdrawal of funding from universities in the guise of protecting Jews. We understand that these policies are designed to turn us against each other.

We urge all our members and communities to:

Demand the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil and call on the State Department to cease the discriminatory revocation of visas under the pretense of combating antisemitism.

Call on university administrators across the U.S. to stand up and protect their students.

Stand against these divisive tactics and advocate for a society that values liberty and dialogue over discrimination and silencing dissent.

Contact their representatives and advocate for legislative reforms that protect the rights of all students and activists, particularly those from marginalized and targeted communities, to speak and assemble freely without fear of retribution.

Disseminate this statement through social media and your networks.