NEW YORK, September 15, 2026 (WAFA) – Student activist Mahmoud Khalil and other pro-Palestine activists have filed a lawsuit against Columbia University, accusing the institution of deliberately failing to protect them from harassment and threats. They allege these incidents occurred over several years due to their activism in defense of Palestinian rights.
The lawsuit—filed in federal court in Manhattan by Khalil, the "Working Group for Palestine" at the university’s School of International and Public Affairs, and the group's president, Mohammed Zubairi—claims that Columbia University violated federal civil rights law. It alleges the university failed to take adequate measures to protect students from threats, the exposure of personal information, and other forms of harassment stemming from their actual or perceived Arab or Muslim backgrounds or their advocacy for Palestinian rights.
Speaking at a press conference at Columbia University to announce the lawsuit, Khalil stated that the university has demonstrated what he described as "anti-Palestinian bigotry"—a sentiment he claimed is rooted in various departments and supported by the Board of Trustees.
He added, "We are filing this lawsuit because no student, regardless of their background, should have to go through the hell we experienced at Columbia University all these years."
For its part, Columbia University declined to comment directly on the lawsuit. A university spokesperson stated that fostering a campus environment where all community members feel welcome, supported, and safe is a fundamental part of the university's identity and a responsibility it takes very seriously. Khalil—an Algerian national born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria—has become a prominent figure associated with the crackdown on pro-Palestinian student protests in the United States, following his arrest by U.S. immigration officials in March 2025 in the lobby of his university residence hall.
The lawsuit comes amidst ongoing debate within U.S. universities regarding protests over the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip—a conflict that played out prominently at Columbia University, where opinions were divided between supporters of the demonstrators and students and staff who reported feeling unsafe or viewed certain activities as antisemitic.
The protests at Columbia caused widespread campus disruption, contributed to the spread of pro-Palestinian solidarity encampments across dozens of U.S. universities, and were linked to the resignation of the university's president.
K.T
