The lawsuit alleges that Columbia failed to protect pro-Palestinian students from harassment and doxxing and seeks to end the University’s suspension of the Palestine Working Group.5 min readSep 15, 2026 07:17 AM IST First published on: Sep 15, 2026 at 07:16 AM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookMahmoud Khalil speaks during a news conference in New York, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)For months, Mahmoud Khalil was the student both protesters and Columbia administrators turned to the go-between trying to keep talks open during the Gaza war demonstrations. Now he is suing the university, accusing it of standing by while he and other Palestinian students were targeted.Khalil is a US green card holder of Palestinian background. He was studying at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) when federal immigration agents arrested him at his university flat in March 2025 the first of several foreign students the Trump administration has since tried to detain and deport over their support for Palestinian rights. He missed the birth of his first son while behind bars.“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 emailed to Forbes. “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.”What the lawsuit saysThe 60-page case was filed in the southern district of New York. Khalil and other members of SIPA’s Palestine Working Group accuse the university, its board, and the school’s dean, Keren Yarhi-Milo, of ignoring what they call ongoing and organised harassment against students who spoke up for Palestinian rights.Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment. (AP)He was released in June 2025, but he is still fighting efforts to deport him a battle expected to end up in the US Supreme Court. That fight now runs alongside this new one, aimed squarely at the institution he once trusted to protect him.Story continues below this adA pattern of legal actionThis is not Khalil’s first case. In July, he sued the Trump administration and several pro-Israel groups, saying they worked together to target him and other activists. He has also filed a $20 million claim against the administration for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, and is seeking records that he says show collusion with anti-Palestinian groups such as Canary Mission. Back in March 2025, he tried to stop Columbia from handing over student discipline records to a House committee that has led scrutiny of universities since the Gaza war and the campus protests that followed.Khalil said the university’s failure to act made him a target. He wrote that Columbia’s leadership cared more about protecting its own reputation than the safety of Palestinian students.He also said more legal action is likely, adding that he will next turn his attention to individuals at Columbia he holds responsible.Columbia has not commented on the case directly. A university spokesperson said the school is committed to protecting its community from discrimination and harassment, and to responding quickly when problems are raised.Story continues below this adColumbia students set up the first pro-Palestinian campus camp in spring 2024, and similar protests spread to universities across the country. The school, once known for its Palestinian studies programme, became the first target of the Trump administration’s wider campaign against universities over claims of antisemitism.Pro-Palestinian protesters rally outside a Newark immigration court for Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil’s release. (AP photo)The lawsuit claims that after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and Israel’s war in Gaza, students repeatedly asked Columbia for help against doxxing campaigns. Some students had their names, photos and personal details shared online and even displayed on mobile billboards.Mohammed Ibrahim Zubairi, a Columbia graduate and former head of the Palestine Working Group, is also named in the case. He told The Guardian the lawsuit aims to force universities to admit they got things wrong.Another plaintiff, Bhavana Bellamkonda, said the case is about the conditions that allowed hostility toward pro-Palestinian students to continue. She said they are not asking for special treatment, only the same protection under the law that Columbia already promises its students.Story continues below this adThe warnings he says went unheardThat trusted, go-between role is central to the case. Before his arrest, Khalil had repeatedly reported threats, harassment and doxxing, including attacks on his immigration status. The day before he was detained, he emailed Columbia’s then interim president, Katrina Armstrong, asking for urgent steps to protect international students.One of his lawyers, Brittany Finley, said Columbia knew what was happening on campus and chose not to act.Most Read1World News Today: JeM chief Masood Azhar in Pak’s ‘most wanted’ list, with PKR 70 lakh bounty2Indian woman begged courts to keep him away, was killed by the same man3Indian-origin CEO spent ₹3.5 crore on girlfriend, then sued her4Before and after: Satellite images show severe damage to Saudi oil pipeline after drone attack590 elite soldiers, CIA’s help, a decoy: Inside US operation to rescue pilot from Iran6Brokers charging up to Rs 28 crore — for pardon from Trump White House: ReportAccording to the lawsuit, instead of addressing student concerns, Columbia brought disciplinary action and restrictions against them, including suspending the Palestine Working Group in May 2025 — a suspension still in place.Other pro-Palestinian students have filed similar lawsuits against Columbia, accusing it of failing to protect them from a hostile campus environment.Story continues below this adKhalil said the fight did not start with him and should not end with him either. He said the lawsuit is meant to spare future Columbia students the same experience.AdvertisementLoading Recommendations...AdvertisementLive BlogWorld News Today Live Updates: US watchdog tallies Iran war’s hit to weapons stockpiles, military bases54 minutes agoRajasthan Municipal Election Result 2026 Live Updates: 10,000 seats, BJP wins 40%, Congress 35%10 hours agoNEET PG 2026 Answer Key Live Updates: NBEMS likely to release response sheet, provisional keys this week14 hours agoBRICS Summit 2026 Live Updates: PM Modi meets 15 world leaders on sidelines of BRICS Summit1 day agoIndia News Highlights, 13 September 2026: Complaint against DMK’s A Raja for remarks against CM Vijay1 day agoAdvertisement