Hamas kidnappers told rescued hostage Shlomi Ziv the terrorist organization had operatives on American campuses, according to a Monday lawsuit by October 7 victims, with the terrorists showing him articles and photographs of Columbia university protests.
In a lawsuit filed Monday to the New York Southern District Court against Within Our Lifetime and its leader Nerdeen Kiswani, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and representative Maryam Alwan, Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace and representative Cameron Jones, and Columbia University Apartheid Divest and lead negotiator Mahmoud Khalil, Plaintiff Ziv said that his Hamas captors referred to protests planned by the defendants when bragging about having American operatives.
The lawsuit alleged not only that Columbia SJP renewed its dormant Instagram activity three minutes before the attack and National SJP appeared to have produced propaganda material during or before the massacre, but argued that the affiliated groups been financed and supported by Hamas through organizations that the terrorist group founded.
The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas founded the Palestine Committee in 1988 to fund and support its operations, the suit alleged, creating arms such as Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and the Islamic Association for Palestine.
After HLF and IAP were exposed, key members of the group allegedly founded by American Muslims for Palestine. AMP sponsored the first National SJP convention, which according to the suit has no independent corporate structure and is controlled by AMP.
Columbia SJP is a chapter of NSJP and WOL is a rebranded New York City Students for Justice in Palestine. The suit noted that Columbia JVP has a close relationship with the local SJP chapter, as do the national bodies. The suit alleged that JVP is use to provide cover to SJP against charges of antisemitism. CUAD, a coalition of hundreds of student groups, according to the suit ceased to be dormant until November 2023 after the Columbia SJP and JVP chapters were banned, and according to the suit has been acting through CUAD.
"Upon information and belief, and based upon statements made to Plaintiff Shlomi Ziv by his Hamas captor, Hamas and AMP/NSJP provided financial, organizational, and other support to CUAD and the Columbia AMP/NSJP Affiliates for the Encampment," read the suit.
Khalil, who has represented CUAD through the protests in New York City, is now at the center of the US federal government's campaign to deport pro-Hamas activist students from the country.
Support for armed resistance
CUAD, WOL, and Columbia SJP have repeatedly issued support for the concept of armed political violence, and as noted in the suit, have collaborated with groups like Samidoun, which is not sanctioned by the US for serving as a branch for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Last March, CUAD, NSJP, and WOL hosted Samidoun International Coordinator Charlotte Kates and her husband alleged PFLP senior official Khaled Barakat in a "Resistance 101" lecture that preceded the encampments. During the lecture a leading NSJP member complained about the threat of imprisonment for contact with Hamas, and Barakat related that he speaks to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and PFLP members about how they care about the support from American students more than what the US president does.
Kates asserted that there was "nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas, these are the people that are on the front lines defending Palestine and fighting for its liberation."
In an October 8 NSJP toolkit, it was argued that SJP chapters were part of a "unity intifada" movement for all Palestinian people and Gazan terrorist "factions" that appeared to be "participating under unified command."
"We as Palestinian students are part of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement," said NSJP. "This is a moment of mobilization for all Palestinians. We must act as part of this movement. All of our efforts continue the work and resistance of Palestinians on the ground."
Ziv was working as a security guard at the Nova Music Festival, and fended off terrorists and evacuated civilians before being captured and taken to Gaza. He was held hostage for 246 days before being rescued alongside three other captives in a June IDF operation.
