For the latest issue of Dazed, a British lifestyle and culture quarterly, artist Nan Goldin and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil engaged in an extended discussion of Khalil’s experience during his 104-day ICE detention, the efficacy of activism and protest, and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Perhaps the most eye-opening part of the exchange came toward the end, when Goldin and Khalil addressed what activists call the “Palestine Exception”—the belief that the US accepts free speech and protest on every issue except Palestine. In 2015, advocacy group Palestine Legal released a report documenting examples of the exception in academia and public institutions; it has since maintained an updated news section on its website tracking similar cases.
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Khalil has arguably experienced the exception firsthand. After serving as a negotiator during protests at Columbia University in 2024, he was arrested this past March under a provision of US immigration law that alleged his presence undermined foreign policy. After a judge ruled the detainment likely unconstitutional, the Trump administration shifted course and claimed he had failed to disclose information on his green card application. Few observers accepted that rationale.
Goldin compared Khalil’s experience with her own as the leader of PAIN, the activist group that pushed museums to cut ties with the Sackler family over its role in fueling the opioid crisis through Purdue Pharma’s production of OxyContin. As she noted, PAIN faced little pushback and succeeded in changing public opinion in part because it won support from media and academia. By contrast, pro-Palestinian activism has led to widespread backlash and repercussions—criminal, professional, and otherwise.
Both Khalil and Goldin argued that the difference stems from the political leanings of university and museum donors and trustees.
“Yeah, when you have universities changing their long-standing rules and procedures just so they can criminalize speech about Palestine … it’s because of their donors, and they want to align with power, because universities are becoming for-profit and about protecting the prestige of the board of trustees,” Khalil said.
“Personally, my career tanked—my market tanked from one day to the next because of my support of Palestine. I’ve learned that many of the rich collectors in New York are Zionists,” Goldin said in response. “I boycotted The New York Times and some collector called the gallery and said, ‘That’s the last straw, I’m sending her work back.’”
As Khalil pointed out, Goldin ultimately has a choice about whether to speak out. For him, there is no choice at all.
“It’s my people who are being killed. I’m a human being, I have to do it. I always do what I have to do,” he said.
The full conversation is worth the read.