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Mahmoud Khalil, a figurehead of Gaza war protests in the United States, returned to Columbia University on Tuesday for the first time since his 2025 arrest under President Donald Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism. He told AFP that his presence at an event for his new memoir, attended by around 100 people, was a victory. In an interview with AFP one week before the US midterm elections, Khalil said the movement had shifted public perception and encouraged a generation of leaders ready to question views about Israel. He accused Columbia of seeking to erase Palestinian voices on campus.