27 US Jewish groups rally behind detained pro-Palestine Tufts student
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Ozturk, who authored a pro-Palestinian op-ed in her campus newspaper last year, was apprehended by plainclothes officers on a public street—a moment captured on video and widely circulated.
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Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University who was arrested by federal agents (AP)
Twenty-seven Jewish organizations in the United States have filed a legal brief in support of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student detained last month by federal authorities amid a Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestine activists. The move, presented as part of efforts to combat "anti-Semitism", has provoked concern across sectors of the Jewish community.
Ozturk, who authored a pro-Palestine op-ed in her campus newspaper last year, was apprehended by plainclothes officers on a public street—a moment captured on video and widely circulated. Her detention has sparked debate around free speech, due process, and the boundaries of lawful dissent, drawing particular attention from progressive Jewish groups.
Federal agents detained Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, near her off-campus residence in Massachusetts on Tuesday. Ozturk was on her way to an Iftar meal when she was apprehended, according to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (#MPAC).
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 27, 2025
CCTV… pic.twitter.com/pJhyR1EADD
Legal brief warns detention of Tufts student threatens free speech
In a federal court filing Thursday, the organizations submitted an amicus brief—commonly used to present arguments from interested third parties—arguing that Ozturk’s detention undermines core constitutional protections.
Among the signatories are J Street, Bend the Arc, Keshet, the New Israel Fund, New York Jewish Agenda, T’ruah, and the Workers Circle. Several congregations also lent their support, including B’nai Jeshurun and Beth Elohim in New York, and Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Massachusetts.
The brief states the groups were compelled to act “because the arrest, detention, and potential deportation of Rumeysa Ozturk for her protected speech violate the most basic constitutional rights.”
Furthermore, the brief contends that the administration’s approach misuses Jewish concerns as a political tool.
“Arresting, detaining, and potentially deporting Ozturk does not assist in eradicating antisemitism. Nor was that the government’s apparent purpose,” the filing asserts.
“The government instead appears to be exploiting Jewish Americans’ legitimate concerns about antisemitism as a pretext for undermining core pillars of American democracy, the rule of law, and the fundamental rights of free speech and academic debate on which this nation was built,” it stressed.
The signatories urged the court to approve a motion for Ozturk’s release.
This case underscores growing divisions within the American Jewish community. While right-wing Jewish groups have largely supported the administration’s hardline stance against what they perceive as anti-"Israel" activism, progressive factions warn that conflating criticism of "Israel" with "antisemitism" risks eroding civil liberties and alienating potential allies.
