The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of “antisemitism,” the lawsuit alleges, makes it easy to conflate routine criticisms of the Israeli state with more generalized antipathy against the Jewish people. In some cases, students and university employees were subject to investigation for making pro-Palestinian statements or wearing cultural attire such as the kaffiyeh.
Five Palestinian-Americans, including a professor, former faculty, and students, have filed a lawsuit against Columbia University, accusing the Ivy League of fostering a discriminatory and hostile environment on campus after Hamas attack Israel on October 7, 2023.
According to The New York Times, the lawsuit was filed earlier this week in a New York Supreme Court, the county-level circuit that hears most claims. It was filed a little more than a year after Columbia agreed to pay $200 million to settle federal allegations that it failed to protect Jewish students and faculty during on-campus protests.
“Columbia has discriminated against its students, faculty and staff who are of Palestinian origin through its failure to adequately protect its community members from harassment by others, and indeed, actively encouraged such harassment,” the lawsuit alleges.
The Times notes that the lawsuit, while mentioning individual Columbia faculty, staff, and student groups, levels most of its charges against the school’s Office of Institutional Equity, an administrative body that serves as a “centralized resource for addressing all reports of discrimination and discriminatory harassment.”
However, the Office of Institutional Equity was only established in August 2024, as part of the university’s attempts to mitigate allegations of antisemitism.
The plaintiffs contend that, after the office was established, it routinely opened investigations into Palestinian students and faculty, sometimes accusing them of antisemitism based off a definition of the term provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of “antisemitism,” the lawsuit alleges, makes it easy to conflate routine criticisms of the Israeli state with more generalized antipathy against the Jewish people. In some cases, students and university employees were subject to investigation for making pro-Palestinian statements or wearing cultural attire such as the kaffiyeh.
“In stark contrast to the OIE’s aggressive investigation of complaints alleging antisemitism based on protected Palestinian advocacy, Columbia systematically failed to investigate complaints submitted by its Palestinian community members,” the lawsuit alleges. “The OIE rarely acknowledged receipt of such complaints, and when it did, it failed to take any follow-up action.”
The lawsuit provides several instances of alleged acts of harassment.
In one instance, a former full-time lecturer said that she was threatened by a university physician and later “doxxed,” forcing her to resign before her teaching contract expired. Court documents accuse a former Columbia professor as the “ringleader” of doxxing attempts that targeted several other educators who reportedly “perpetuated” antisemitism. Several plaintiffs claim to have developed anxiety and other mental health issues as the result of the alleged harassment.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages for violations of state and local human rights laws.
“Rather than fulfill its legal obligations to remediate the hostile environment, Columbia actively participated in and amplified the racially, ethnically, and politically motivated targeting of Palestinian students, staff, and faculty,” the lawsuit says.
Sources
Palestinian Americans File Discrimination Lawsuit Against Columbia
Palestinian students and staff sue Columbia University alleging discrimination
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