Oct. 7th victims sue Columbia student groups for ‘aiding and abetting’ Hamas

On Monday, victims of the October 7th massacre and their families filed a lawsuit against pro-Palestinian student groups at Columbia University for aiding and abetting Hamas.

The plaintiffs include Shlomi Ziv, who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 246 days; Iris Weinstein Haggai, whose parents remain in Hamas captivity and are likely dead; Roee Baruch, whose brother was taken hostage and murdered by Hamas; James Poe, whose son remains in Hamas captivity in Gaza; Talik Gvili, whose son was murdered on October 7th and whose body remains in Hamas’ possession; Ayelet Samerano, whose son was also killed and is being held by Hamas; and several Columbia University students who fought Hamas in the Israel Defense Forces and were then harassed and attacked by pro-Palestinian students.

Hamas operatives on American campuses

According to the lawsuit, Hamas’ propaganda arm in the United States is American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), which is run by the AJP Educational Foundation. AMP controls the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), which is responsible for fomenting Hamas support on college campuses. In New York City, the AMP/NSJP’s partners and affiliates are Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, and Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine.

The October 7th victims and their families are suing those student organizations and their leaders for alleged collaboration with Hamas. On October 8th, the day after the massacre, the AMP/NSJP distributed a manifesto to the student organizations that appeared to have been created before the October 7th attack. It identified AMP/NSJP as governed by Hamas and provided students with pro-Hamas marketing materials, calling for a Day of Resistance. The student organizations followed the instructions to the letter. They distributed propaganda on campus stamped by the “Hamas Media Office” and began inciting fear and violence among students. They attacked Jews on and off campus, assaulted Columbia University employees, and destroyed property.

“The purpose of these actions is to (i) intimidate and coerce the American people to forsake Israel and support Hamas; (ii) influence United States policy through intimidation and coercion to shift away from Israel and toward Hamas; and (iii) to affect the conduct of the United States government,” the lawsuit says. “These activities are instrumental to Hamas’ short and long-term goal of weakening Israel and allowing Hamas to engage in its acts of international terrorism with less resistance.”

Prior knowledge of October 7th

The plaintiffs also allege that the student organizations had prior knowledge of the October 7th attack.

“Three minutes before Hamas began its attack on October 7, Columbia SJP posted on Instagram ‘We are back!!’ and announced its first meeting of the semester would be announced and that viewers should ‘Stay tuned.’ Before the post, Columbia SJP’s account had been dormant for months.”

Columbia SJP answered the AMP/NSJP’s call for a Day of Resistance, which was led by Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil, who also heads Columbia University Apartheid Divest, was recently set for deportation by the Trump administration until an Obama-appointed judge, Jesse Furman, ordered that Khalil be allowed to remain in the US.

The Day of Resistance was only the beginning. Since then, the student organizations have organized pro-Hamas rallies, demonstrations, and attacks at Hamas’ instructions. They hosted individuals directly affiliated with Hamas who related that the terror group “care[s] more about the support they receive from American students protesting on their behalf than they do about what the President or Vice President of the United States says or does.” Shlomi Ziv recalls that during his days in Hamas captivity, his captors bragged about having operatives on American university campuses.

The plaintiffs are suing the student groups for violating the Anti-Terrorism Act and international law.

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