Palestinian students and staff sue Columbia University alleging discrimination
WASHINGTON: 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, according to a court filing in New York.
In May 2025, Columbia University suspended over 65 students who took part in shutting down the main library during a pro-Palestinian demonstration. This occurred as the university was negotiating with the Trump administration, which had withdrawn federal funding from the institution after accusing it of tolerating antisemitism during similar protests.
The demonstrators, including certain Jewish groups, maintain that opposing Israel's assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian lands is not antisemitic and that advocating for Palestinian rights should not be equated with supporting extremism. In July of the previous year, Columbia agreed to pay more than US$200 million to the US government to settle federal investigations and recover most of its federal funding.
Free speech organizations criticized Columbia's crackdown on protests, which resulted in students facing arrests, suspensions, expulsions, and revocations of their degrees. No response was provided by Columbia to recent inquiries regarding the potential lawsuit.
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