Families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack are suing detained Columbia University protest leader Mahmoud Khalil and several pro-Palestinian groups, accusing them of acting as the “propaganda arm” for terrorists.
Other defendants include Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace, and Within Our Lifetime-United for Palestine, an activist group based in New York City that has worked with Columbia student protesters.
In addition to Khalil, the lawsuit names three other activist leaders individually and as representatives of the pro-Palestine groups.
Other plaintiffs in the case include Israeli Americans who served in the Israel Defense Forces before returning to the United States to pursue studies at Columbia, and families of individuals killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
However, the lawsuit argues that this debate misplaces the focus.
“This case is not about individuals and organizations independently exercising their free speech rights to support whatever cause they wish—no matter how abhorrent,” the complaint states.
“Rather, it is about organizations and their leaders knowingly providing substantial assistance—in the form of propaganda and recruiting services—to, and in coordination with, a designated foreign terrorist organization, Hamas.”
One of the plaintiffs, Shlomi Ziv, was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, while working as a security guard at the Nova music festival in southern Israel. He was held in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip until the Israeli military rescued him last June.
According to Ziv, his captors “bragged about having Hamas operatives on American university campuses.”
They showed him news reports and photographs of protests at Columbia University organized by the defendants, he said.
The plaintiffs allege that the organizations had prior knowledge of the attack. The claim is based on the timing of the organizations’ public relations activities.
For example, Columbia SJP allegedly reactivated its long-dormant Instagram account just three minutes before Hamas began its Oct. 7 attack, posting a message that read, “We are back!”
The group also announced a meeting and urged supporters to “stay tuned.”
The lawsuit further claims that National SJP had pre-prepared materials to coordinate with the attack.
It points to the “Towfan Al-Aqsa Statement,” signed by dozens of SJP chapters, including Columbia’s, alleging that it must have been drafted and reviewed “before and/or during the events of October 7 themselves.”
The statement reads, in part, “We support the resistance, we support the liberation movement, and we indisputably support the Uprising.”
The lawsuit was filed under the Alien Tort Statute, a 1789 law allowing foreign nationals to sue in federal courts for violations of customary international law.
The suit seeks to have the defendants charged with violating federal anti-terrorism law and international law and seeks unspecified damages to the plaintiffs.
“There is a legal chasm between independent political advocacy and coordinating with a foreign terrorist organization to seed pro-terror propaganda throughout America’s largest city,” it argues.
Khalil’s attorneys and the pro-Palestinian organizations did not respond to a request for comment.
Khalil, a Syrian-born citizen of Algeria, entered the United States on a student visa in December 2022. In 2023, he married Noor Abdalla, an American citizen, and in November 2024, his status was adjusted to permanent resident.
UNRWA provides humanitarian aid, including food and health care, to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, and other areas. Its role has become increasingly controversial amid the ongoing Gaza war, with Israeli officials accusing UNRWA employees of aiding Hamas, including participating in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Several countries paused funding to the agency over the allegations.
