A lawsuit brought by families of six hostages held by Hamas brought evidence that  anti-Israel groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) had “prior knowledge” that the terrorist organization would attack Israel on the morning of October 7. 

The lawsuit, seeking damages from activists aiding and abetting Gaza’s terrorist organizations, was filed Monday in Manhattan federal court by the National Jewish Advocacy Center, the Schoen Law Firm, Greenberg Traurig LLP, and the Holtzman Vogel Law Firm at the Southern District Court of New York. The suit cited a “highly suggestive” Instagram post from Columbia University’s SJP allegedly published “moments” before Hamas’ attack on Israel began. SJP’s instagram had been dormant for several months but before Hamas attacked, but three minutes before Hamas began its attack on October 7, Columbia SJP posted on Instagram ‘We are back!!’ in an announcement about its first meeting of the semester, and urging viewers to ‘stay tuned,’” according to the suit.

The plaintiffs accuse the group as being part of “Hamas’ American propaganda arm,” and the terrorists’ “US-based in-house public relations firm, which has changed forms several times to evade criminal and civil liability.”

“Columbia SJP was the leading organizer of pro-Hamas disruptions, encampments, and riots on Columbia’s campus, including virulent antisemitic protests that harassed and physically intimidated Jewish students and faculty, glorified Hamas, engaged in dangerous premeditated unlawful acts, and significantly impaired Columbia University’s ability to provide educational services to its students,” the suit states.

Columbia SJP was suspended In the wake of the 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupation, but the plaintiffs claim the group “continues operating covertly” through “intermediaries.”

The lawsuit also highlights a “toolkit” disseminated by National Students for Justice in Palestine on Oct. 8, 2023, that called on the group’s partners and allies to organize a “Day of Resistance” and “sign what was, effectively, a loyalty pledge to Hamas.”

“Since October 7, these organizations have only been more aggressive and more militant in their efforts to, in coordination with Hamas and AMP/NSJP, distribute Hamas-created and affiliated propaganda, incite fear and violence, and attack critical academic, economic, and infrastructure centers in New York City,” the lawsuit alleges.

National Students for Justice in Palestine urged its chapters to sign on to what the suit refers to as the “Towfan Al-Aqsa statement” — referencing the codename for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” according to the lawsuit.

On information and belief, Associational Defendants had prior knowledge of the October 7 attack. The bases for that belief include the timing of the NSJP Toolkit’s distribution and the signing of the Towfan Al-Aqsa Statement,” the lawsuit states.

Among the defendants named in the suit are Mahmoud Khalil, a green card resident of the US, who is being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for lying on his green card application about his affiliation with a terrorist organization.

The lawsuit seeks to have the defendants charged with criminal violations and pay unspecified damages.