A group of former pro-Palestinian student activists, including Mahmoud Khalil, filed a lawsuit against Columbia University on Monday, alleging the institution failed to protect them from ongoing harassment related to their advocacy. The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, claims Columbia exhibited “deliberate indifference” toward the threats and intimidation faced by members of the SIPA Palestine Working Group, a student organization Khalil led while attending Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs between 2023 and 2025.
Khalil, 31, became a prominent figure in Columbia’s pro-Palestinian community after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested him at his residence on March 8, 2025. Although a legal permanent resident, he was detained for 104 days without criminal charges and missed the birth of his first child. In the period preceding his arrest, Khalil said he repeatedly sought assistance from university administrators to address escalating threats but did not receive support.
The lawsuit contends that Columbia’s failure to intervene contributed to the hostile environment that allowed ICE’s actions, which Khalil attributes to “conditions created” by the university’s inaction. The complaint further alleges that harassment intensified after Keren Yarhi-Milo assumed the deanship of SIPA in 2022. According to the suit, the group encountered institutional obstacles in organizing events, faced increased security measures deemed intimidating by students, and was subjected to targeted anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic rhetoric from peers.
Following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2025, members of the Palestine Working Group were publicly targeted when the outside organization Accuracy in Media published photographs and names of group members on platforms accessible only to those with Columbia credentials. The lawsuit describes an incident in which students’ faces were displayed on a truck circling campus under the words “Columbia’s Leading Antisemites.” Despite initial dismissal of their concerns by Dean Yarhi-Milo, the images were eventually removed, although websites maintained by Accuracy in Media with similar accusations remain active.
Adam Guillette, president of Accuracy in Media, defended the group’s actions, stating they sought to hold “Columbia’s pro-Hamas radicals” accountable—a phrase reflecting rhetoric used by the Trump administration against pro-Palestinian activists on college campuses. Dean Yarhi-Milo condemned the doxxing campaigns and supported an anti-doxxing task force; in 2025, Columbia established a policy banning malicious publication of personal identifying information. However, she did not respond to a request for further comment about the lawsuit.
In September 2025, Columbia indefinitely suspended the Palestine Working Group, citing posts on the group’s Instagram account that the university’s Office of Institutional Equity said contributed to a hostile environment. Mohammed Ibrahim Zubairi, who succeeded Khalil as group president, criticized the suspension as disproportionate, noting that such public insults toward administrators were common in campus protests. The group has declined to meet reinstatement conditions, including disclosing account access and attending training sessions.
The lawsuit asserts that Columbia violated Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act by failing to protect the students’ civil rights and demands the reinstatement of the Palestine Working Group, monetary damages, and restoration of Khalil’s access to the main campus, which has been restricted since his release from detention.
This marks Khalil’s second legal action against Columbia; an earlier suit filed in March 2025 challenged the university’s disclosure of student disciplinary records to Congress. Additionally, other pro-Palestinian students and faculty members pursued a separate state court lawsuit in August over hostile campus conditions after the October 7 attacks.
Columbia University declined to comment directly on the litigation but issued a statement affirming its commitment to maintaining an inclusive, safe, and supportive campus environment. Khalil emphasized that the university should have countered narratives from the Trump administration and others labeling pro-Palestinian students as dangerous or antisemitic—accusations that he and fellow activists have consistently rejected.
“I don’t want any student, regardless of their background and identity, to go through the hell that I went through the past three years because of Columbia’s actions,” Khalil said.