Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia for being indifferent to harassment of pro-Palestinian protesters

Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist whose 2025 arrest as a Columbia University graduate student attracted widespread national attention, sued his alma mater on Monday, accusing it of being indifferent to the plight and harassment of pro-Palestinian protesters.

The lawsuit comes after Khalil, who was born in Syria, helped organize a student encampment at Columbia University two years ago, which served as an anti-Israel demonstration that protested the war in Gaza.

The lawsuit alleges Columbia violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act when dealing with incidents against the Palestine Working Group, which the university suspended indefinitely in May 2025.

“Columbia laid the groundwork for my targeting by the Trump administration through its deliberate indifference and discrimination against Palestinian students,” Khalil said in a statement obtained by The Hill. “For over two years, we pleaded with Columbia, and Columbia did not care. Our safety and wellbeing did not serve the ideological project its Board of Trustees was protecting, so they traded us away. We are suing because no one should go through the hell Columbia put us through.” 

The lawsuit alleged members of the working group were “antagonized and harassed without consequence” since it was created in 2018, which got worse following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. 

The lawsuit alleged that harassment included doxxing members of the group and threats issued even by the school itself, and that Columbia called the organization a “hostile group.” 

Columbia said it remains committed to creating a university where students and staff feel "welcomed, supported, and safe."

“Columbia is committed to protecting our community from discrimination and harassment, and responding promptly and appropriately when concerns arise,” a campus spokesperson said.  

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.