Current and former Palestinian students and staff have sued Columbia University, accusing it of discriminating against its Palestinian community since late 2023, according to a court filing in New York.
The lawsuit says the university failed to protect Palestinian students and staff from harassment and targeted them through what it describes as “unfair and biased disciplinary hearings”.
Columbia has previously denied discriminating and has condemned hate. Local media reported that the university declined to comment on pending litigation. It did not respond to a request for comment.
Protests broke out at Columbia and across the United States after Israel launched its assault on Gaza, which followed a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023. Protesters demanded an end to US support for Israel and called on universities to divest from companies backing it.
Columbia suspended more than 65 students in May 2025 over their role in shutting down the university’s main library during a pro-Palestinian demonstration. The protest came while the university was negotiating with President Donald Trump’s administration, which had cut its federal funding after accusing Columbia of tolerating antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say opposing Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories is not antisemitic, and that advocacy for Palestinian rights should not be conflated with support for extremism.
The university agreed in July last year to pay the US government more than 200 million dollars to settle federal investigations and restore most of its federal funding.
Free speech groups condemned Columbia’s crackdown on the protests, in which students faced arrests, suspensions, expulsions and revoked degrees.
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