Mahmoud Khalil files suit alleging a 'public-private' conspiracy to target Israel's critics

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the U.S. federal government and several private organizations, alleging a "public-private partnership" to suppress criticism of Israel. The suit, filed in federal court on October 21, 2025, claims the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, and Betar conspired to target pro-Palestinian student activists through doxing, arrests, and deportations, often by smearing them as antisemites or linking them to Hamas without evidence. Khalil, who was arrested in March 2025 and spent 104 days in immigration jail, states the lawsuit aims at "exposing the network of organizations, particular actors and institutions that work together to criminalize solidarity with Palestine." The Center for Constitutional Rights is leading the suit, which seeks unspecified damages and an end to the alleged conspiracy, arguing it may violate the Ku Klux Klan Act.