A lawsuit filed in the Southern District Court of New York alleges that several U.S.-based activist groups had prior knowledge of the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel and provided support to Gaza’s terrorist organizations.
The plaintiffs, families of the attack’s victims, are seeking damages from individuals such as law student, Nerdeen Kiswani who once threatened to set a man on fire because he wore an IDF shirt and Khalil Mohammed and groups including Within Our Lifetime (WOL), Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Columbia University’s Apartheid Divest (CUAD), and individuals such as Mahmoud Khalil.
The lawsuit claims that Columbia SJP reactivated its dormant Instagram account just minutes before the October 7 attack, announcing a meeting and advising supporters to “stay tuned.” Additionally, 83 SJP chapters, including Columbia’s, reportedly issued statements supporting Hamas on the day of the attack, suggesting prior coordination.
Furthermore, the suit alleges that Hamas captors referred to these activist groups as their operatives. Plaintiff Shlomi Ziv, a former hostage, stated that his captors boasted about having operatives on American university campuses and showed him photos of protests organized by the defendants. Shlomi was working security at the Nova Music Festival. He went to the party with his friend and cousin – both murdered. He was kidnapped by Hamas while attempting to flee and
was rescued in a daring IDF raid together with Noa Argamani and Almog Meir, 246 after their captivity.
The plaintiffs argue that these organizations acted as the public relations wing of Hamas, responding to calls for mass mobilization and disseminating pro-Hamas propaganda. They assert that the defendants’ actions contributed to Hamas’s strategy of provoking responses that endanger civilians and fuel propaganda efforts.
This lawsuit highlights concerns about the influence and activities of certain activist groups on U.S. campuses and their alleged connections to foreign terrorist organizations.
Source link
