NY judge dismisses lawsuit against Columbia by former professor who said he was 'with Hamas'

A New York State Supreme Court justice dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Columbia University visiting professor Mohamed Abdou against the university and its former president, Minouche Shafik. Abdou sued after Shafik testified before Congress in April 2024 regarding antisemitism at Columbia, where she stated Abdou “will never teach at Columbia again” following his social media posts declaring he was “with Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad” after the October 7 attacks. The judge ruled on August 13 that Shafik’s comments were protected opinions and did not constitute defamation, noting Abdou’s complaint failed to show she called him antisemitic and that her statements were based on his undisputed social media posts.