UK journalist Sami Hamdi detained in US amid pro-Israel lobby pressure

In what a US-based organization called an “abduction,” British political commentator and journalist Sami Hamdi has been detained by federal authorities in the country.

Hamdi’s arrest was attributed to his criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Hamdi, a frequent critic of US and Israeli policy, was scheduled to address a CAIR gala in Sacramento on Saturday night and speak at a subsequent CAIR event in Florida prior to his arrest by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

According to CAIR, he was stopped at the airport as a result of a coordinated “far-right, Israel First” campaign.

It stated in a statement that “our nation must stop abducting Israel First bigots who are unhinged.” It must end because this is an Israel-first policy, not an America-first policy.

Friends of Hamdi called his arrest “a deeply troubling precedent for the freedom of expression and the safety of British citizens abroad” in a statement seen by Al Jazeera.

The United Kingdom Foreign Office was asked to “demand urgent clarification from the US authorities regarding the grounds for Mr. Hamdi’s detention.”

He is still being held in the US and hasn’t been deported, according to Al Jazeera.

A British citizen’s arrest for expressing political views is a dangerous precedent, according to the statement.

Mohamed El-Hachmi Hamdi, Hamdi’s father, claimed in a post on X that his son “has no affiliation” with any political or religious organization.

His position on Palestine is not in line with any faction there, but rather with the people’s right to peace, freedom, and dignity. He continued, “Quite simply, he is one of the young dreamers of this generation who longs for a world with more compassion, justice, and solidarity.”

Sami Hamdi, a British Muslim journalist and political commentator, was abducted by ICE agents at San Francisco Airport earlier this morning, allegedly as a result of his outcry against the Israeli government during his ongoing speaking tour.

We can confirm that Mr. Hamdi has not been… https://t.co/dfcVGvz6UX

“Proud Islamophobe”

Hamdi’s detention was confirmed on Sunday by DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who asserted that there was no proof that he posed a threat to national security. She wrote on X that “This individual’s visa was suspended and he is currently in ICE custody.”

Hamdi has frequently criticized Western governments for directly challenging arms transfers and diplomatic cover for Israeli war crimes, accusing US politicians of actively encouraging Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

His arrest is one more example of US authorities thwarting access for Palestinian and pro-Palestine voices.

Awdah Hathaleen and his cousin Eid Hathaleen, two Palestinian men, were denied entry to the same airport in June and deported to Qatar. Awdah was reportedly killed by an Israeli settler in the West Bank’s occupied West Bank a few weeks later.

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and ally of US President Donald Trump, was immediately applauded online for playing a role in Hamdi’s detention after she publicly described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and “white advocate.”

She falsely described him as a “supporter of HAMAS and the Muslim Brotherhood,” saying “you’re lucky his only fate is being arrested and deported.”

Loomer has previously advanced conspiracies, including those that claim the September 11 attacks were inside the US.

Loomer and others attributed the RAIR Foundation, a pro-Israel pressure organization whose stated goal is to fight “Islamic supremacy,” to the rise in Hamdi. RAIR demanded Hamdi’s removal from the country a day after he was accused of trying to “extend a foreign political network hostile to American interests.”

Shaun Maguire, a partner at the tech investment firm Sequoia and a vocal supporter of Israel, claimed on Sunday that Hamdi had tried to hire him through an AI-generated email campaign, claiming that “there are jihadists in America whose full time job is to silence us.”

The opposite is true, according to Hamdi’s supporters and civil rights advocates, and this detention is yet another instance of political retaliation against Israel critics, which is carried out at the border before even one word is uttered in the media.

Source: Aljazeera