Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former graduate student at Columbia University, has filed a lawsuit against the university, its board of trustees, and School of International and Public Affairs dean Keren Yarhi-Milo. The lawsuit, filed in New York on Monday, accuses Columbia of "deliberate indifference" to harassment against him and other members of a pro-Palestinian campus group, and of retaliating against them when concerns were raised. Khalil alleges violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs, and a breach of contract.
The lawsuit claims that the university's actions and inactions led to the doxxing of multiple group members and Khalil's detention by immigration agents. Khalil, who gained prominence as a spokesperson for student activists protesting Israel's actions in Gaza, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in March 2025 and spent 104 days in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child. He became a national focal point regarding the Trump administration's approach to pro-Palestinian demonstrators. His deportation case remains active.
The lawsuit further alleges that Columbia "refused to correct disinformation" about Khalil during his detention, thereby allowing a false narrative to persist and enabling peer-on-peer harassment of other Palestinian and Arab/Muslim students. Instead of investigating harassment reports, the university allegedly retaliated by characterizing pro-Palestinian group events as security risks and revising disciplinary policies to target criticism of the Israeli government. Khalil's lawsuit seeks a court order to restore his access to the campus and end the suspension of the Palestinian group, in addition to unspecified damages to be determined at trial. The pro-Palestinian group and its president, Mohammad Zubairi, are also named as plaintiffs. Columbia University declined to comment on the specific lawsuit but stated its commitment to protecting its community from discrimination and harassment.
