65+ Students Suspended: Palestinian Group Sues Columbia University

A group of current and former Palestinian students and staff have sued Columbia University, alleging discriminatory treatment by the school against its Palestinian community since late 2023. The lawsuit claims the university failed to protect its Palestinian members from harassment and targeted them through unfair and biased disciplinary hearings.

The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court and alleges that Palestinian students had been physically accosted, targeted with ethnic slurs on campus, and subject to discriminatory treatment from the university. In one incident, protesters were allegedly attacked with a foul-smelling chemical substance, causing severe physical injuries.

In May 2025, Columbia suspended more than 65 students for their role in shutting down the university's main library in a pro-Palestinian demonstration. This incident occurred while the university was negotiating with the Trump administration, which had cut its federal funding after accusing the university of tolerating antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia has previously denied being discriminatory and has condemned hate. However, the lawsuit argues that the university's Task Force on Antisemitism was asymmetric and discriminatory because it did not establish a comparable mechanism to protect its Palestinian students.

The university's decision to pay over $200 million to the U.S. government to resolve federal probes and restore most of its federal funding in July last year has also been cited in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs claim that the university's actions have harmed their academic work, life on campus, and physical and mental health.

## Context The lawsuit is part of the ongoing fallout from the anti-Israel protest movement that rocked the campus after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and start of the war in Gaza. Protests took place at Columbia and around the U.S., with demonstrators demanding an end to U.S. support for Israel and calling for the divestment of funds from companies supporting Israel.