Sen. Peter Welch (D., Vt.) visited detained Columbia University activist Mohsen Mahdawi on Monday, calling him a "friend" and praising his work with "Jewish brothers and sisters" on Columbia's campus. In the wake of Oct. 7, Mahdawi said he could "empathize" with Hamas's decision to launch the attack and used a siren to drown out pro-Israel students protesting for the release of Israeli child hostages. Mahdawi, who, like fellow Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil, saw the Trump administration