Susan Sarandon stands in 'solidarity' with Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at hearing
- Susan Sarandon grew up in Edison.
- Sarandon's movies include “Atlantic City,” “Thelma and Louise,” and “Dead Man Walking,” for which she won an Academy Award.
Actress Susan Sarandon, a native of Edison, “stood in solidarity” with Mahmoud Khalil at the Palestinian activist's court hearing Wednesday, March 12, in Manhattan.
Khalil is a Columbia University graduate who was arrested March 8 by ICE for his role in anti-Israel campus protests despite being in the United States legally. The Trump administration has moved to deport him under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that gives the Secretary of State the power to deport noncitizens on foreign policy grounds, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on March 11 according to NPR.
Khalil is a Palestinian native of Syria who is in the United States legally with a green card. He was not at the court on Wednesday as he is being detained in Louisiana.
“Heading in to federal court with my friend (Susan Sarandon) to stand in solidarity with human rights defender Mahmoud Khalil,” said human rights lawyer Steven Donziger on an Instagram post Sarandon also shared. “Important to manifest positive energy; we are hopeful our courts will stand up to this abuse and he will come home soon. 🙏🙏❤️❤️👊👊”
Ramzi Kassem, an attorney representing Khalil, said the arrest violated his First Amendment rights.
“He was taken by U.S. government agents in retaliation, essentially, for exercising his First Amendment rights, for speaking up in defense of Palestinians in Gaza and beyond, for being critical of the US government and of the Israeli government,” said Kassem told reporters outside the Manhattan federal courthouse on Wednesday, according to the New York Post. “Those are the reasons why he was targeted.”
Khalil’s arrest triggered protests in New York City and other cities. On Tuesday, 12 people were detained in a protest that began at Washington Square Park and went to City Hall, according to the New York Times.
Sarandon is a long-time supporter of progressive causes, including speaking out against the death penalty, and protesting the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
The actress was criticized at the onset of the Israel and Hamas war in 2023 when she said, at a pro-Palestinian rally, that U.S. Jews fearing for their safety were “getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.”
Sarandon later retracted the comment.
“This phrasing was a terrible mistake, as it implies that until recently Jews have been strangers to persecution when the opposite is true,” said Sarandon in a statement. "I deeply regret diminishing this reality and hurting people with this comment."
Sarandon's movies include “Atlantic City,” “Thelma and Louise,” and “Dead Man Walking,” for which she won an Academy Award.
Sarandon was born in New York City and lived in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens before moving with her family to Edison. She attended grammar school at St. Francis of Assisi in Metuchen, graduated Edison High School and was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2010.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com