UWS Woman Targeted in Mistaken Identity Campaign Linked to Lawyer for Columbia U Anti-Israel Agitator Mahmoud Khalil

UWS Woman Targeted in Mistaken Identity Campaign Linked to Lawyer for Columbia U Anti-Israel Agitator Mahmoud Khalil

By: Fern Sidman

A case of mistaken identity has upended the life of an Upper West Side woman who now finds herself at the center of a bizarre harassment campaign — all because she shares the same name as the attorney representing Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Hamas Columbia University protest organizer, currently being held in federal custody. As reported by The New York Post on Monday, the woman has received a series of harassing emails and disturbing packages at her Riverside Boulevard residence, seemingly from individuals outraged by Khalil’s involvement in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.

According to law enforcement sources cited by The New York Post, the latest incident occurred on Monday, when yet another suspicious package arrived at the woman’s home. Authorities declined to describe the contents of the package, but its arrival has intensified concerns over the woman’s safety. When contacted by The New York Post, the victim declined to comment — a response that calls attention to her desire to distance herself from the controversy engulfing her life.

The harassment campaign appears to stem from critics of Khalil, whose high-profile role in organizing incendiary anti-Israel demonstrations on Columbia University’s campus during the Israel-Hamas war has drawn sharp public condemnation. As The New York Post report has noted, the real target of these attacks is believed to be Khalil’s legal counsel — who, notably, does not reside at the Riverside Boulevard address. Unfortunately, this innocent woman is paying the price for what appears to be an egregious case of mistaken identity.

Khalil, a Syrian-born Palestinian with Algerian citizenship, was pursuing a graduate degree at Columbia when he became one of the most prominent figures in weeks of disruptive campus activity. His actions during these protests, described as anti-Semitic unrest, ultimately landed him in federal detention.

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, Khalil’s background is one of global reach and controversy. Prior to arriving in the United States in 2022, Khalil held a senior post at the United Kingdom’s office for Syria in Lebanon — a position affiliated with the British government’s Syria Chevening Program, a prestigious initiative that provides fully funded scholarships to foreign nationals seen as having leadership potential.

Moreover, Khalil has reportedly worked with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), a body that has faced repeated scrutiny and criticism, particularly in pro-Israel circles, due to the emergence of credible reports that a number of their staff members personally participated in the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 and took part in the wanton slaughter of Israelis and others.

Although Khalil ended his work in Lebanon roughly two years ago, his activism on U.S. soil — particularly on Columbia’s Ivy League campus — has drawn heightened attention and backlash, especially from those concerned about a rise in anti-Semitic incidents nationwide, The New York Post report said. These tensions have only escalated since his arrest, and his legal team has since petitioned for his release from federal custody.

Amid this mounting controversy, the woman on Riverside Boulevard has become an accidental casualty of a broader political and ideological battle. Despite having no actual connection to Mahmoud Khalil or his legal representation, she has been subjected to an ongoing barrage of digital and physical harassment.

Law enforcement officials have not released additional information on whether any suspects have been identified in connection with the harassment campaign. Still, the episodes raise serious concerns about the rise of doxxing and intimidation tactics fueled by misinformation and misidentification — a phenomenon that can imperil the lives of completely uninvolved individuals.

As The New York Post reported, the ripple effects of the Columbia protests and Khalil’s detention reach far beyond the university gates — even, tragically, into the mailbox of an innocent woman who simply shares the wrong name at the wrong time.