Columbia head booed at graduation, caves to anti-Israel pressure

Claire Shipman was jeered by pro-Palestinian activists until she acknowledged Mahmoud Khalil, implying he is wrongly detained.

By World Israel News Staff

The acting president of Columbia University was met with jeers and boos as she spoke at the school’s graduation ceremony, despite offering her support for detained anti-Israel organizer Mahmmoud Khalil.

Claire Shipman, who is the third person to head the university since antisemitic and anti-Israel protests erupted on campus in the wake of the October 7th massacres, was nearly drowned out by boos from the audience upon taking the stage.

“We firmly believe that our international students have the same rights to freedom of speech as everyone else, and they should not be targeted by the government for exercising their right,” Shipman said.

After the crowd loudly chanted Khalil’s name while she spoke, Shipman made a conciliatory comment about the ex-campus activist.

“I know many in our community are mourning the absence of our graduate, Mahmoud Khalil,” she added.

The crowd then began cheering after Shipman said Khalil’s name.

Khalil, a former Columbia graduate student who was not enrolled at the university at the time of his arrest, was detained by ICE officials in March 2025.

The Trump administration said that Khalil was “aligned” with the Hamas terror group and that he had violated the terms of his student visa by organizing violent and illegal protests on campus.

The Syrian-born scholar acted as a negotiator between protesters who stormed Hind Hall and held two custodians hostage and the school’s administration.

He is currently held in a Louisiana detention facility, awaiting deportation.

A student, identifying himself only by his first name, Ethan, told the New York Post that h was taken aback by Shipman’s mention of Khalil.

“Columbia has shown a clear attachment to the side of Palestine. There’s no need to extend an olive branch to the side you are on,” Ethan said.

“I think the crowd was surprised” by Shipman appearing to suggest that Khalil was missing from the ceremony.

“He has…graduated, he’s not a student anymore,” Ethan noted.

“It’s strange that she’d mention it.”