Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia University for alleged failure to protect pro-Palestinian students

Mahmoud Khalil and other pro-Palestinian student activists have filed a lawsuit against Columbia University, alleging the institution was deliberately indifferent to years of harassment faced by students due to their advocacy. The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court by Khalil, the SIPA Palestine Working Group, and its president Mohammad Zubairi, claims Columbia violated federal civil rights law by failing to protect students from threats, doxxing, and other harassment based on perceived Arab or Muslim ancestry or support for Palestinian rights. Khalil, who was arrested by US immigration agents in March 2025 despite being a lawful permanent resident, stated the university exhibited "rotten, institutionalized anti-Palestinian bigotry." He added, "We are suing because no student, regardless of their background, should go through the hell that Columbia put us through over all these years." The lawsuit also alleges that Columbia treated pro-Palestinian protests as "security risks" and revised policies to discipline on-campus criticism of Israel.