Nine Americans and Israelis who were victims of Hamas’s October 7 attack—including relatives of those murdered or taken hostage, as well as two individuals mistreated at Columbia University—filed a lawsuit on Monday in Manhattan federal court. The suit targets Columbia protest leader Mahmoud Khalil alongside organizers and supporters of pro-Hamas demonstrations, accusing them of acting as Hamas’s “propaganda arm” and “in-house public relations firm.”
BOMBSHELL lawsuit filed today in New York’s Southern District against some of the largest terror supporters and antisemitic mob riot organizers in NYC, including:
– Nerdeen Kiswani & WOL
– Maryam Alwan & SJP Columbia
– Mahmoud Khalil & CUAD
– Cameron Jones & JVP Columbia… pic.twitter.com/d0XDHzjLT5— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 25, 2025
Mahmoud Khalil, a student activist and lead negotiator for the 2024 Columbia University pro-Hamas campus occupations, was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 8, 2025, at his New York City apartment building. The agents were acting on orders from the State Department to revoke Khalil’s student visa. When informed that he was a lawful permanent resident, they stated that his residency status would instead be revoked. Khalil was then transported to LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, Louisiana.
Mahmoud Khalil is a terrorist who led anti-American terroristic activities on American soil. This video is the ONLY proof needed to deport him. The U.S. will no longer accept this. He’s been arrested and he’s going back. pic.twitter.com/HDDO9cjEkm
— Ankush sharma (@Aku_700) March 11, 2025
Khalil’s detention has sparked widespread backlash from lawyers, members of the Democratic Party, and civil rights organizations, who argue that it constitutes an attack on free speech and the First Amendment.
However, according to the lawsuit, Khalil and his co-defendants are Hamas’s propaganda arm in New York City and on the Columbia University campus.
“Their self-described acts in furtherance of their goals to assist Hamas have included terrorizing and assaulting Jewish students, unlawfully taking over and damaging public and university property on Columbia’s campus, and physically assaulting Columbia University employees,” the plaintiffs stated.
The plaintiffs include six family members of hostages who are still held in Gaza. Former hostages who were freed or rescued have also joined the lawsuit, including Iris Weinstein Haggai, the daughter of slain Israeli-Americans Gad and Judy Haggai, along with three American IDF soldiers.
Other defendants named in the lawsuit include Within Our Lifetime-United for Palestine, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace, and several of their leaders.
“It would be illegal for Hamas to directly retain a public relations firm in the United States or hire enforcers to impose their will on American cities,” the complaint states. “Yet those are precisely the services that the [defendant NGOs and individuals] knowingly provide to Hamas.”
On Sunday, the US government alleged that Mahmoud Khalil failed to disclose his past employment with UNRWA on his visa application, arguing that this omission constitutes grounds for deportation. The government further claims that Khalil’s presence or activities in the country could have serious foreign policy implications.
Khalil, a native of Syria and a citizen of Algeria, entered the US on a student visa in 2022 and applied for permanent residency (green card) in 2024.
Khalil failed to disclose on his green card application that he had previously worked for the Syria office of the British Embassy in Beirut and was a member of UNRWA, according to the government. UNRWA has been a focus of well-documented accusations from American and Israeli politicians of having dozens of Hamas members on its payroll.
According to UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma, Khalil was only an unpaid intern with the agency in 2023 but was never hired as a paid staff member.
In a court brief filed Sunday, the US government outlined its reasons for keeping Khalil in custody while his removal proceedings continue, arguing that the US District Court in New Jersey, where the habeas case is being heard, lacks jurisdiction.
Mark Goldfeder, a lawyer at the National Jewish Advocacy Center representing the plaintiffs, told Reuters in an email that the defendants’ coordination with Hamas was well known because they had openly stated it repeatedly.
“There is nothing wrong with being pro-Palestinian, and pro-Hamas speech is still protected speech in most contexts,” he said. “The issue here is the material support of and coordination with a designated foreign terrorist organization.”
