NEW YORK CITY — Mahmoud Khalil filed a federal lawsuit against Columbia University, its board of trustees, and Keren Yarhi-Milo, dean of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), on Monday. The complaint alleges that the university violated federal civil rights laws through deliberate indifference to severe, persistent, and coordinated harassment of pro-Palestinian students.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Khalil, Mohammad Ibrahim Zubairi, and the SIPA Palestine Working Group. Zubairi serves as the president of the student organization. The suit seeks damages in amounts to be determined at trial, a court order to lift the indefinite suspension of the Palestine Working Group, and an injunction preventing future discriminatory actions.

"We are suing because no student, regardless of their background, should go through the hell that Columbia put us through over all these years," Khalil said. He also stated that "Columbia laid the groundwork for my targeting by the Trump administration through its deliberate indifference and discrimination aimed at intimidating Palestinian students."

The complaint alleges the harassment was based on the students' pro-Palestine advocacy and their perceived shared ancestry as Arab and/or Muslim students. Khalil is a Syrian-born Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent and a green card holder. He is a graduate of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

The lawsuit accuses Columbia University of breaching its obligations to students by failing to protect them from discrimination and harassment. It alleges that the university's Office of Institutional Equity was weaponized against pro-Palestinian students, bringing discrimination charges against the Palestine Working Group over Instagram posts criticizing Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo. The complaint further states that in 2026, the university expelled a member of the group for WhatsApp messages sent on the day Khalil was released from federal detention.

Khalil accused Columbia University of surveilling pro-Palestinian students and hiring private investigators to monitor him. The lawsuit claims that a box truck displaying the full names and photos of Palestine Working Group members, labeled as 'Columbia’s Leading Antisemites,' circled the Morningside Heights campus for weeks in 2023. The complaint alleges that the photos featured on the harassment truck were only accessible through a password-protected university platform, and that Dean Yarhi-Milo refused to investigate how they were obtained.

The complaint states that harassment of the Palestine Working Group began from its formation in 2018. It notes that hostility escalated to an extreme level after October 7, 2023. Student protesters occupied Hamilton Hall at Columbia University on April 30, 2024, and renamed it Hind’s Hall. Khalil served as a mediator between student protesters and university administrators during the 2024 encampments.

Khalil was detained for 104 days before his release in June 2025. He missed the birth of his first child while in detention. A federal judge ruled in September 2025 that the Trump administration had violated the constitutional rights of international students by seeking to deport them for criticizing Israel's war on Gaza. An appeals court panel dismissed Khalil’s petition in January 2026, ruling that the federal court lacked jurisdiction.

Khalil's legal team announced in May 2026 that it would appeal to the Supreme Court. He filed a lawsuit in July 2026 against Trump administration officials and pro-Israel groups, accusing them of conspiring to target him. He also filed a $20 million false imprisonment and malicious prosecution case against the Trump administration and sued for records of collusion with anti-Palestinian doxxing groups including Canary Mission.

Columbia University paid $221 million in July 2025 to settle claims with the federal government. The settlement included the restoration of $400 million in federal funding. In the fiscal year ending in June 2024, the university paid $75,000 to the American Israel Education Foundation. Columbia University announced a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League in July 2025 to conduct programming and training on antisemitism.

A Columbia University spokesperson said, "Creating a campus environment where every member of our community feels welcome, supported, and safe is fundamental to who we are as a University." The spokesperson added, "Columbia is committed to protecting our community from discrimination and harassment, and responding promptly and appropriately when concerns arise." Regarding financial contributions, the spokesperson said, "These grants did not come from Columbia’s operating funds and were payments distributed from a donor-advised fund established at Columbia in accordance with IRS rules."

Why It Matters

The lawsuit represents a direct legal challenge to Columbia University's handling of pro-Palestinian activism and its response to allegations of harassment. By naming the university, its board of trustees, and the dean of SIPA, the plaintiffs seek to hold the institution accountable for what they describe as a hostile environment enabled by administrative indifference. The case connects campus disciplinary actions, such as the suspension of the Palestine Working Group, to broader federal legal battles involving immigration enforcement and free speech rights.

The allegations include claims that the university failed to protect students from doxxing and threats, while simultaneously characterizing their events as security risks. The outcome could influence how universities balance safety concerns with the protection of student advocacy groups, particularly those engaged in controversial geopolitical issues. The suit also seeks to restore Khalil's access to the Columbia University campus, which the university denied citing public safety concerns.

Timeline

The complaint states that harassment and hostility escalated to an extreme level after October 7, 2023. On March 7, 2025, Khalil emailed Columbia’s interim president Katrina Armstrong and other administrators urging them to protect international students.

Khalil was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in March 2025. Khalil sued Columbia University in March 2025 to block the release of student disciplinary records to a congressional committee. Columbia University suspended the activities of the Palestine Working Group indefinitely.

What's New

Brittany Finley, an attorney, said, "What Mahmoud Khalil endured for speaking up against the genocide in Gaza was unconscionable. And much of that was at the hands of or enabled by Columbia." Joseph Howley, an associate professor of classics at Columbia University, said, "It confirms our worst suspicions since fall of 2023 that pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian politics are the official policy of this institution." Khalil said, "This is what happens when a university is controlled by ideologues on its Board of Trustees whose commitment to Israel appears to matter more than their fiduciary duty, academic freedom, or the students they are supposed to serve." He also said, "For over two years, we pleaded with Columbia. Columbia did not care. Our safety and our wellbeing did not serve the ideological project its Board of Trustees was protecting, so they traded us away." He added, "This didn’t begin with me, nor does it end with me. With this lawsuit, we hope to ensure that future generations of Columbia students never have to face this fight." The complaint alleges that Columbia University retaliated against pro-Palestinian students by characterizing their events as security risks.

A Columbia University spokesperson said, "These grants did not come from Columbia’s operating funds and were payments distributed from a donor-advised fund established at Columbia in accordance with IRS rules."