Columbia Spectator Cites AIM’s Activism in New Discrimination Lawsuit Coverage
August 13, 2026
Palestinian students, faculty sue Columbia alleging systemic discrimination
By Pedro Meerbaum • August 13, 2026 at 10:05 PM
A group of current and former Palestinian students and lecturers filed a lawsuit against Columbia on Monday, claiming that the University systemically discriminated against them after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
The affiliates—lecturers Hadeel Assali, GSAS ’21, and Bahia Munem; Mahdi Sabbagh, a doctoral candidate in architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; and alumni Maryam Alwan, GS ’25, and Layla Saliba, SSW ’25—allege that the University failed to protect them from harassment and ran biased disciplinary procedures against them. They are represented by lawyers Jonathan Wallace, CC ’76, and Rihan Issa.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a settlement in which Columbia agreed to pay millions to Jewish students who alleged that the University failed to properly address antisemitism on campus, creating an unsafe environment for them.
The plaintiffs allege that the University “failed to address, prevent, and protect its members from harassment” and failed to respond to a “hostile campus climate” following Oct. 7, 2023, that exposed Palestinian students to “extreme and dangerous harassment.”
A University spokesperson declined to comment on pending litigation.
The suit cites circumstances of physical and verbal aggression against Palestinian students on campus wearing clothing and symbols affiliated with the pro-Palestinian movement, such as the keffiyeh. It also points to the University’s alleged lack of response over the circulation of a “terror list” doxxing Palestinian affiliates, which the suit claims the University was aware of and “failed to meaningfully respond, despite its capacity to do so.” The suit also says the University failed to address “discriminatory and racist statements” made at campus events and by University employees.
The suit states that the University was on notice of doxxing incidents, citing the formation of a “doxxing task force,” but that it “failed to provide meaningful support, protective measures, or remediation” to Palestinian community members.
The University created the Doxing Resource Group in November 2023 to streamline communication regarding incidents of harassment and doxxing toward University affiliates. Prior to its creation, Accuracy in Media, a conservative media group, displayed dozens of students’ names and faces under the label “Columbia’s Leading Antisemites” on a truck driving around the Morningside Heights campus.
Plaintiffs claimed that instead of fulfilling “legal obligations to remediate the hostile environment,” the University “actively participated in and amplified” the targeting of Palestinian affiliates.