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“They Want to Silence Me”: Columbia Student Mohsen Mahdawi on ICE Jail, Palestine, Activism, Buddhism

In his first live interview since his release from ICE detention, Columbia University student and Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi recounts the traumatic experience of his arrest and incarceration. Mahdawi, a green card holder who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, was arrested in Vermont on April 14 when he appeared for what he was told would be a citizenship interview, and spent more than two weeks in U.S. immigration custody, where he was held in retaliation for his speech in support of Palestinian rights. Mahdawi’s detention has led him to reflect on the “interconnectedness between injustices,” as multiple members of his family in Palestine have been “unjustly” incarcerated in Israeli jails. “Now I can feel their pain,” says Mahdawi. Despite the U.S. government and pro-Israel groups’ attempts to silence his calls for an end to genocide in Gaza, he adds, “I share my pain with the world.”

Mathematics and Moral Responsibility: The IMO and the Genocide in Gaza

Over 700 mathematicians have signed an open letter urging the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) Board to take a principled stand — consistent with its own past decisions — in response to Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza. The letter calls for the suspension of Israel’s IMO membership while still allowing its students to participate as individuals, as was done with Russia in 2022. Among the signatories are some of the world’s most renowned mathematicians, including Fields Medalists Timothy Gowers, David Mumford, and Cédric Villani, along with numerous IMO contestants and team leaders. Despite the killing of thousands of children, the destruction of Gaza’s schools, and the blocking of the Palestinian team from the 2024 IMO, the Board has taken no action. Two students from Gaza are still preparing for the 2025 competition — displaced, starving, and under constant bombardment — while the IMO amended its rules last year to suppress any discussion of the situation.