Lawsuit alleges anti-Israel group leaders are 'Hamas' foot soldiers in New York City'

In purported violation of the Antiterrorism Act and the Alien Tort Statue, the defendants are said to have "acted as Hamas' foot soldiers in New York City," and may have had foreknowledge of the designated foreign terror organization's devastating Oct. 7 attacks.

Defendants in the case are Within Our Lifetime and its founder Nerdeen Kiswani, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and its representative Maryam Alwan, Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and its representative Cameron Jones, and Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and its representative Mahmoud Khalil, who is currently in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The lawsuit asserts that the associational defendants have "distribute[d] Hamas-created and affiliated propaganda, incite[d] fear and violence, and attack[ed] critical academic, economic, and infrastructure centers in New York City," as well as having "repeatedly terrorized and assaulted Jews across New York City and on Columbia University's campus, physically assaulted Columbia University employees, and illegally seized and damaged public and private property."

The details of the allegations are thorough. To demonstrate how the defendants "resoundingly and knowingly answered Hamas' call to action" on and after Oct. 7, the lawsuit cites how the defendants knowingly "obtain[ed] and disseminat[ed]" a Hamas propaganda document, which contained directions created by the Hamas Media Office for spinning the narrative of their deadly attacks. By "painstakingly follow[ing]" the document, the lawsuit alleges defendants "directly responded to, and followed orders from, Hamas." 

The lawsuit also supplies several indicators that defendants may have had foreknowledge of the heinous Oct. 7 attack, to include "a highly suggestive social media post published moments before the October 7 attack began" in which Columbia SJP posted on Instagram "We are back!!" after a months-long hiatus. 

On Oct. 7, Kiswani utilized marketing materials that "would not be released until the next day" in a National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) "Toolkit" demonstrating how SJP organizations across the country could support the Gazan "resistance." 

The lawsuit names Khalil as the purported leader of Columbia SJP's Day of Resistance.

The next day, Columbia University suspended Columbia SJP and Columbia JVP, at which time "Khalil and former members and/or organizers of Columbia SJP became leaders of CUAD." As a result, CUAD "became the primary organizer of the violent and antisemitic protests that would foment terror, sow discord, and disrupt campus life at Columbia for over a year." 

Ziv alleges that his "Hamas captors bragged about having Hamas operatives on American university campuses," and even "showed him Al-Jazeera stories and photographs of protests at Columbia University that were organized by Associational Defendants."

Given the "legal chasm between independent political advocacy and coordinating with a foreign terrorist organization to seed pro-terror propaganda throughout America's largest city," the lawsuit alleges the defendants' "actions violate the Antiterrorism Act and the law of nations."

According to the Jerusalem Post, the National Jewish Advocacy Center, Greenberg Traurig LLP, the Schoen Law Firm, and the Holtzman Vogel Law Firm filed the suit on behalf of plaintiffs who include Ziv, several Columbia University students who have served with the Israel Defense Forces, and a number of American and Israeli citizens whose family members, most of whom are believed dead, remain in Hamas captivity. 

The lawsuit especially states that Khalil, "on information and belief, directly coordinates with Hamas, AMP/NSJP and/or other agents and affiliates of Hamas and related terrorist organizations." The filers state that his detention by ICE in March may have been "based on many of his actions described in this Complaint."

This withholding of information, according to federal officials, made Khalil "inadmissible at the time of his adjustment."

Fox News Digital reached out to CUAD, Columbia SJP, Within Our Lifetime, and Columbia-Barnard JVP for comment about the allegations contained within the lawsuit, but received no response.