Mohsen Mahdawi

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Mohsen Mahdawi is a Palestinian activist and a student at Columbia University. A third‑generation Palestinian refugee from the Far’a camp, he moved to the United States in 2014 and became a green card holder in 2015. He started at Lehigh University to study computer science before transferring to Columbia’s School of General Studies to study philosophy. He was set to graduate in May 2025 and had been accepted into a master’s program at SIPA.

As an activist, Mahdawi helped lead pro‑Palestinian protests at Columbia during the Gaza war in 2023. He also co‑founded Dar: the Palestinian Student Society to celebrate Palestinian culture and identity. In 2024 he launched a reconciliation outreach program with critics of the pro‑Palestinian movement, working with Jewish groups and arguing that the fight for Palestinian freedom and the fight against antisemitism go hand in hand. He was part of campus actions organized with Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace.

During a November 9, 2023 protest at Columbia’s Low Memorial Library, Mahdawi shared his personal story of life in a refugee camp and being shot by an Israeli soldier. The university later suspended SJP and JVP for what administrators called an unauthorized event, a decision that sparked ongoing debate about campus policy and free expression. In 2024‑25, Mahdawi stepped back from some organizing to focus on dialogue with Jewish and Israeli students and helped develop ideas for resolving the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict with Israeli colleagues.

Mahdawi is also a Buddhist who emphasizes non‑violence and empathy. He served as president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association and organized major events, including a Vesak festival in 2023. He spoke publicly about the Gaza war and met with Buddhist leaders in 2024 to discuss peace and reconciliation.

In April 2025, Mahdawi was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a USCIS office in Colchester, Vermont, during a planned citizenship interview. A temporary restraining order kept him from being moved out of Vermont, and he was eventually released on probationary terms after about two weeks in detention. His detention occurred amid deportation actions cited by U.S. authorities as harming U.S. foreign policy, and his lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the detention.