US detains British commentator Sami Hamdi amid pro-‘Israel’ pressure
Al Mayadeen | October 27, 2025
British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday.
The detention occurred during his ongoing speaking tour organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), raising alarms over the influence of pro-Israeli lobbying groups.
Hamdi had entered the US legally on October 19 to participate in events addressing US foreign policy and the Israeli war on Gaza. He had recently spoken at CAIR’s annual gala in Sacramento and was scheduled to speak at another event in Florida. On October 24, he was informed that his visa had been revoked, and ICE agents detained him upon his arrival at San Francisco International Airport.
DHS says Hamdi is a national security threat
US Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Hamdi’s detention, stating that he posed a national security threat.
“This individual’s visa was revoked, and he is in ICE custody pending removal,” McLaughlin wrote on X.
Reactions from Civil Rights Groups
Friends of Hamdi and civil rights organizations have condemned the detention as an infringement on free speech. A statement from his supporters described the arrest as “a deeply troubling precedent for freedom of expression and the safety of British citizens abroad.”
They called for the United Kingdom Foreign Office to demand urgent clarification from US authorities regarding the grounds for Hamdi’s detention.
CAIR criticized pro-Israeli lobbying groups’ influence on US authorities that led to Hamdi’s arrest. In a statement, CAIR accused “unhinged Israel First bigots” of pressuring the US government to detain Hamdi, labeling the action as an “Israel First policy, not an America First policy.”
Hamdi’s father, Mohamed El-Hachmi Hamdi, expressed concern over his son’s detention, stating that Sami “has no affiliation with any political or religious group.” He emphasized that his son’s stance on Palestine is centered on the people’s right to security, peace, freedom, and dignity, describing him as “one of the young dreamers of this generation, yearning for a world with more compassion, justice, and solidarity.”
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From the Archives
The lies about the 1967 war are still more powerful than the truth
By Alan Hart | June 4, 2012
In retrospect it can be seen that the 1967 war, the Six Days War, was the turning point in the relationship between the Zionist state of Israel and the Jews of the world (the majority of Jews who prefer to live not in Israel but as citizens of many other nations). Until the 1967 war, and with the exception of a minority of who were politically active, most non-Israeli Jews did not have – how can I put it? – a great empathy with Zionism’s child. Israel was there and, in the sub-consciousness, a refuge of last resort; but the Jewish nationalism it represented had not generated the overtly enthusiastic support of the Jews of the world. The Jews of Israel were in their chosen place and the Jews of the world were in their chosen places. There was not, so to speak, a great feeling of togetherness. At a point David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding father and first prime minister, was so disillusioned by the indifference of world Jewry that he went public with his criticism – not enough Jews were coming to live in Israel.
So how and why did the 1967 war transform the relationship between the Jews of the world and Israel? … continue
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