Ryan Barr

Corporate Communications and Integrated Marketing Veteran; Father and Husband; Orioles and Steelers Fanatic; Avid Fisherman and Occasional Golfer.

[Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby]

The fact that more Americans recognize the name Mahmoud Khalil than Edan Alexander is a damning reflection of how deeply corrupt our media has become—and how broken our cultural priorities are.

[WVTM 13 @WVTM13]

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl opens post-game presser by calling to “bring the hostages home.” #israel #hamas #ncaa #marchmadness #auburn

[U.S. Senator John Fetterman @SenFettermanPA]

A: Hamas does not want peace.

I unapologetically, 100% stand with Israel, and demand the release of all remaining hostages.

Sending this from Israel. 🇮🇱

[The Uri @uricohenisrael]

In the last 24 hours:

- An Israeli company sold for $32B
- An Israeli actress got a star in Hollywood
- An Israeli NBA rising star delivered another outstanding performance

While antisemitic losers boycott Starbucks and chant intifada, we keep building💪🏼

Am Yisrael Chai🇮🇱

[Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11]

So who exactly is Mahmoud Khalil?

Khalil is a roughly 30-year-old former Columbia graduate student. In the words of The New York Times, Khalil is "The Public Face of Protest Against Israel" at Columbia.

He has acted as a spokesman for an anti-Israel, pro-Hamas student group called Columbia University Apartheid Divest or CUAD.

CUAD says it is "fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization."

CUAD believes that Oct 7 was a “moral, military, and political victory."

CUAD justified Oct. 7 by declaring “violence is the only path forward”.

Khalil was the negotiator on behalf of students who started a tent city on Columbia's campus and who illegally took over a campus building.

Khalil distributed pamphlets of pro-Hamas propaganda, titled "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood: Our Narrative." Al-Aqsa Flood is Hamas's code name for the 10/7 terrorist attacks.

Khalil was in a group that disrupted a Columbia class on Israeli history to attack the country, and the professor, for "normalizing genocide."

All of these actions violate the rules that allowed Khalil to come here as an immigrant.

American citizens have strong freedom of speech, but there is ZERO reason that America should be welcoming in foreigners from abroad whose chief occupation will be agitating on behalf of American enemies who murder women and children as their primary strategy.

Khalil does not want to live in America because he loves our land, our people, and our values. Khalil wants to live in America in order to contribute to its destruction and eradication. Staying in America isn't a right. It's a privilege. And Mahmoud Khalil threw his privilege away.

Khalil needs to go home, and thousands more need to go home with him. This 30-year-old terrorist sympathizer is a martyr for nothing except the murder of children.

[Scott Jennings @ScottJenningsKY]

Mahmoud Khalil’s group wants to eradicate Western Civilization & foment unrest in the United States. President Trump & @SecRubio are well within their legal rights to deport this radical. We are either going to stand up or become Europe. I’m 100% behind the President.

[Vivid.🇮🇱 @VividProwess]

This is NYC right now, as thousands of pro-Hamas lunatics march through the streets, holding red triangle signs, which symbolize killing Jews.

They are all anti-American terrorists.

Arrest or deport them. They can’t stay.

[Shai Davidai @ShaiDavidai]

A great deal of false, misleading, and exaggerated claims are circulating regarding the potential deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a 31-year-old @Columbia University graduate student, by the Department of Homeland Security (@DHSgov).

I would like to make six important points about this.

Yet, while there’s much to discuss, the most important takeaway is this: No matter how sensationalized the conversation becomes on social or traditional media, it is essential that we remain level-headed, embrace complexity, and avoid rushing to judgment until the facts are clear.

#1: Lead with compassion.

This likely won’t surprise anyone who has followed me over the past year and a half. While I am relieved that the federal government is beginning to address anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli, and anti-American activity on university campuses, I do not take pleasure in Khalil’s potential deportation.

As someone who also arrived in the U.S. on a student visa and is now a green card holder, I can only imagine the fear of facing deportation for repeatedly violating its conditions.

While I strongly disagree with Khalil’s actions, I refuse to strip him or his wife of their humanity.

#2: In a properly functioning society, actions must have consequences:

For over a year and a half, Mahmoud Khalil has led @ColumbiaBDS, a student coalition that spreads terrorist propaganda on campus and has been responsible for multiple violent takeovers of university buildings, two of which resulted in public safety personnel being hospitalized.

Khalil has also acted as the primary negotiator between student protesters and the administration, both during a campus encampment that featured spaces honoring U.S.-designated terrorists and the more recent building occupations at @BarnardCollege.

As a married, 31-year-old graduate student who has repeatedly violated the conditions of his green card, Khalil’s potential deportation is the direct consequence of the choices he has made.

#3: The right to a fair trial is essential to the functioning of a democratic society.

No matter what you think—or know—about Mahmoud Khalil and his actions, it is crucial that we all withhold judgment until he has received the fair legal process guaranteed to every U.S. legal resident.

As someone who has both protested for democracy in Israel and volunteered as a graduate student teaching incarcerated men in maximum- and medium-security correctional facilities in upstate New York, I am deeply committed to the principles of due process, fair legal representation, and equal treatment under the law.

Khalil, like anyone else, is entitled to fair and unbiased treatment under the law, whether from individuals, groups, or the government. I trust that the U.S. legal system will ensure his legal proceedings are carried out as intended.

#4: Don’t fall for fake news.

Over the past 48 hours, a smear campaign has spread false claims by Layla Saliba and Maryam Iqbal—two @Columbia student leaders who, alongside Khalil, have fueled anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli, and anti-American activity on campus— accusing me of working with the administration to deport Khalil.

Let me be absolutely clear: I have never had a direct line to the administration. Even if I did, I would never use such influence to target an individual. This is not who I am or what I stand for.

Like many, I’ve called out Khalil’s repeated legal violations and demanded accountability. But as I always remind my students, just because one event follows another doesn’t mean it caused it. Correlation does not imply causation.

#5: This is not about free speech

As I’ve stated many times, I am a strong advocate of free speech. People must have the right to voice their opinions, even when they are deeply offensive, reprehensible, or ignorant. However, it must be emphasized that Khalil was not apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security for exercising his First Amendment rights.

He was apprehended for violating the conditions of his green card, namely for his activities aligned to a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

This isn’t about free speech—it’s about respecting and upholding the rule of law.

#6: Khalil is not the story.

The story is not about Mahmoud Khalil. He is neither a hero nor a villain, but rather a foreign national who has been radicalized by his professors and peers on Columbia’s campus.

The real story here is about the fight against anti-democratic U.S.-designated terrorist organizations that have held 59 hostages in underground tunnels for more than 500 days, including Edan Alexander—a 20-year-old U.S. citizen from Tenafly, New Jersey.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I strongly encourage you to watch the 1-hour interview with Eli Sharabi, an Israeli citizen who was held hostage for 491 days, only to learn upon his release that his wife and two daughters were murdered by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 Massacre.

Don’t let the moral outrage of social media algorithms distract you from what is at stake.

Bring Them Home.

**

One small ask – If you have read thus far, please help me spread this message.

With all the ‘fake news’ going around, it is important o share the truth.

[Brian Cohen @brcohen]

.@Columbia has an antisemitism crisis, and for months, I have worked with students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni to urge the administration to act quickly to address this crisis and avoid lasting damage to the University. I hope this federal action is a wake-up call to Columbia’s administration and trustees to take antisemitism and the harassment of Jewish students and faculty seriously so that these grants can be restored, the vital work of the University can continue, and that Columbia can become, once again, a place where the Jewish community thrives

[Eli Afriat 🇮🇱 @EliAfriatISR]

Please Share. For Yarden. 💔

[StopAntisemitism @StopAntisemites]

Tufts University - “WE ARE ALL BIBAS”.

Yes, we are. 🧡

[Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby]

A massive crowd in the Netherlands displays a massive Israeli flag in solidarity with the Jewish state.

The world stands with Israel.

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

The Axel Springer Headquarters in Berlin, Germany. 🇩🇪🇮🇱

[Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby]

An entire nation mourns for the Bibas.

[Arsen Ostrovsky @Ostrov_A]

🎗️ Kfir

🎗️ Ariel

🎗️ Shiri

[Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 @JewsFightBack]

Senator @JohnFetterman just did what every terrorist-apologizing “progressive” refuses to do—he sat and talked with Israeli orphans, kids who lost both their parents because Gaza chose war.

Thank you, Senator Fetterman, for showing the world what true moral clarity looks like.

[Ryan Barr @ryanjaybarr]

Join Julia and AEPhi in the Fight Against Cancer!

Julia and @GWtweets #AEPhi are making a difference by raising awareness and funds for Sharsheret…every dollar helps.

#Sharsheret #FckCancer #donatetoday

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[Ryan Barr @ryanjaybarr]

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[Ryan Barr @ryanjaybarr]

Love popcorn, baseball and Coop? Help Coop reach his goal by buying some popcorn to help The Beacon School Varsity baseball team raise funds for new uniforms, equipment and spring training in Florida to compete in the competive Triple A city league.

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