A group of pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Ivy League school for discrimination against protesters and students of Palestinian origin.
Palestine Legal, an advocacy group for those who support Palestinian causes, filed the complaint Thursday with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. The group said it is representing four students, as well as Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, which was suspended from the campus last year after holding protests regarding Israel's war against Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Palestine Legal said in a news release it is "demanding an investigation into Columbia University's discriminatory treatment of Palestinian students and their allies, including by inviting NYPD officers in riot gear — for the first time in decades — to arrest over a hundred students peacefully protesting Israel's genocide last week."
The complaint lists instances where the students "have been the target of extreme anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic harassment on campus" since Oct. 9, two days after Hamas' terrorist attack in southern Israel. It also claimed the school threatened that if students did not end their pro-Palestinian tent encampment, the National Guard would be called in, something the school has denied.
"Columbia's vicious crackdown on student protests calling for Palestinian freedom amid an ongoing genocide should alarm us all," Palestine Legal Staff Attorney Sabiya Ahamed said in the news release. "Students have always been at the forefront of the most pressing social issues of the day. We urge federal civil rights officials to do what Columbia has disgracefully failed to: ensure the rights of Palestinian and allied students are protected at a moment when their voices are most essential."
In an email to Newsmax, a Columbia spokesperson declined to comment on the complaint. Newsmax reached out to the Department of Education for comment.
Columbia, one of many U.S. colleges experiencing a wave of pro-Palestinian campus protests, also is facing backlash for not doing enough to protect Jewish students and staff.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., visited Columbia on Wednesday and spoke to Jewish students. He said, "The cherished traditions of this university are being overtaken by radical and extreme ideologies that is a target on the backs of Jewish students in the U.S. and on this campus.
"A growing number of students have chanted in support of terrorists, chased down Jewish students, mocked and reviled them, shouted racial epithets, screamed at those students bearing the Star of David," Johnson said. "They have told Jewish students to leave the country and shamefully some professors and faculty have joined the mob.
"We left a meeting with students who told us of the heinous acts of bigotry they have experienced simply because of their faith. Their bravery is inspiring, much more inspiring than some of the activities we are seeing here. They should never have to confront such hate on an American college campus, such a revered institution."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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