Lawsuit Names Prominent U.S. Hamas Supporters

Canary Mission’s Research Cited as Evidence 

New Lawsuit Targets U.S. Allies of Hamas

Canary Mission’s Research Crucial in Landmark Lawsuit Against Hamas-Affiliated Groups and Individuals in the U.S.

Canary Mission’s extensive research and documentation of antisemitic, pro-terror and extremist groups and individuals is playing a pivotal role in supporting the claims made in a new lawsuit against several individuals and organizations in America accused of aiding and abetting Hamas’ acts of international terrorism.

The suit, Haggai et al v. Kiswani et al, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, is being brought by October 7, 2023 victim Iris Weinstein Haggai and other victims and families impacted by Hamas’ atrocities in connection with the massacre.

The plaintiffs seek to hold accountable individuals and organizations operating on U.S. soil who have allegedly provided material support to Hamas, including through propaganda and recruitment efforts.

The defendants named in the case include:

• Mahmoud Khalil, spokesperson for Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and currently slated by the U.S. government for deportation
• Nerdeen Kiswani, leader and founder of Within Our Lifetime
• Maryam Alwan, a leader of Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (Columbia SJP)
• Cameron Jones of Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace (Columbia JVP)

Each of these individuals, as does the organization Within Our Lifetime, has an extensive profile on the Canary Mission website. The lawsuit cited these profiles, each of which provided crucial evidence of the defendants’ current and longstanding involvement in extremist activities.

The Charges

The defendants are accused of working in coordination with Hamas and its affiliates to promote propaganda, incite violence and disrupt institutions under the guise of activism.

The complaint details how these organizations and their leaders glorified Hamas’ attacks, coordinated with known terror-affiliated groups and actively spread Hamas’ propaganda, particularly following the October 7 massacre, the deadliest attack on Jewish civilians since the Holocaust.

Columbia students marked the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7 by publishing “The New York War Crimes,” in which they declared “Glory to the Martyrs,” and “Revolution Until Victory” and their allegiance to terror orgs.

Testimony by released hostage Shlomo Ziv cited in the lawsuit corroborated these claims. Ziv, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, and held hostage by the terror group for eight months, stated that his captors told him they had operatives on American campuses and showed him articles and photographs of the protests at Columbia University, ground zero for the campus terror support.

The lawsuit details how:

• Columbia SJP reactivated its dormant Instagram activity three minutes before the attack
• National SJP appeared to have produced propaganda material during or before the massacre
• The groups named in the lawsuit are financed and supported by Hamas through organizations founded by the terror group
• The Columbia encampment was well-supplied with identical tents, toiletries, food and professional signage

The lawsuit invokes the Antiterrorism Act and the Alien Tort Statute. Importantly, it states,

“This case is not about individuals and organizations independently exercising their free speech rights to support whatever cause they wish—no matter how abhorrent. Rather, it is about organizations and their leaders knowingly providing substantial assistance—in the form of propaganda and recruiting services—to, and in coordination with, a designated foreign terrorist organization, Hamas.”

Legal and Moral Accountability

The lawsuit underscores the critical need for accountability in the fight against terrorism. The plaintiffs, many of whom have suffered unimaginable tragedies due to Hamas’ brutality, seek justice against those who have enabled and amplified Hamas’ reach within American institutions. By providing a legal avenue to hold these individuals and organizations responsible, this case sets a precedent for combating terrorist propaganda and recruitment networks in the United States operating under the guise of political activism.

Meet The Defendants

Canary Mission has been extensively documenting these individuals and their affiliated groups—some for years. Below is more information exposing their radical activism, incitement, and ties to extremist movements.

Nerdeen Kiswani and Within Our Lifetime

Nerdeen Kiswani is being sued individually and as the representative of Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine.

Status: Unknown
State: New York
Org: Al-Awda, BDS, SJP, WOL
University: CUNY Law

Nerdeen Kiswani [Nerdeen Mohsen] has called for the death of Zionists and for Israel’s destruction and spread incitement to violence as the chairperson of Within Our Lifetime (WOL), an anti-Israel activist group in New York City.

Maryam Alwan and Columbia SJP

Maryam Alwan is being sued individually and as the representative of Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (Columbia SJP).

Maryam Alwan
Status: Student
State: New York

Columbia SJP leader Maryam Alwan speaks at a Within Our Lifetime rally

Cameron Jones and Columbia JVP

Cameron Jones is being sued individually and as the representative of Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace (Columbia JVP).

Cameron Jones
Status: Student
State: New York
Org: BDS, JVP, SJP, WOL
University: Columbia
Cameron Jones expressed support for terrorism and called for Israel’s destruction as a Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) activist at Columbia University<
Jones has repeatedly demanded Israel’s destruction, chanting violent slogans like “Intifada, revolution!” at campus rallies.

Mahmoud Khalil and CUAD, Columbia SJP, and Columbia JVP

Mahmoud Khalil is being sued individually and as the representative of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), Columbia SJP, and Columbia JVP.
Mahmoud Khalil\Status: Student
State: New York
Org: CUAD, BDS
University: Columbia

Mahmoud Khalil participated in the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia in April 2024 as a lead negotiator [00:36:30] on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), an anti-Israel student coalition. He has also expressed support for Hamas terrorism as a CUAD representative.

CUAD is a coalition of “over 80 student groups working toward the goal of collective liberation.” CUAD is part of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. The group’s demands included “a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, divestment from Israel…and to reinstate” the pro-terror campus groups Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) after the Columbia administration suspended them. CUAD members have also declared that their goal is “to weaken US imperialism” and the “total eradication of Western civilization.”

In March 2025, Khalil was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which reportedly revoked his student visa. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Khalil was scheduled to appear before a federal immigration judge.

On October 7, 2024, the first anniversary of Hamas’ terror attack on Israel, Khalil participated in a leadership role in a pro-Hamas protest organized by CUAD at Columbia. The next day, CUAD wrote that it was necessary to “bring the war home.”

For more information on the anti-Israel movement’s war on America, check Canary Mission’s campaign “Bringing the War Home.”

On March 5, 2025, Khalil served as a negotiator, after pro-Hamas agitators occupied the library lobby at Barnard College in support of students suspended for “interrupting a ‘History of Modern Israel’ class on Jan. 21 and distributing fliers, including one that showed a jackboot squashing a Jewish star.” The takeover was organized by CUAD. During the protest, anti-Israel activists reportedly shared posters that read: “DEATH TO AMERICA,” writing the same message on the library’s guest book. Classes were reportedly disrupted. The police were sent to the location, citing a “bomb threat,” making a series of arrests.

On March 24, 2024, CUAD co-organized a pro-terror event that hosted Khaled Barakat, a leader of a foreign terror organization. The event was titled: “Palestinian Resistance 101.” The event also featured Charlotte Kates and Nerdeen Kiswani. Kates and Barakat are the heads of Samidoun, an organization banned in Germany and Israel for its ties to terrorism and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Kiswani is the head of Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a pro-terror activist group responsible for the disruptive protests across New York City.

Mahmoud Khalil’s Participation in the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia

On April 24, 2024, the New York chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) posted on Instagram: “THE PEOPLE’S (POPULAR) UNIVERSITY FOR PALESTINE: For the past week, students at Columbia’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment have put on alternative programming for those joining on the lawns, from teach-ins to cultural performances…” The post included a video in which Khalil appeared [00:00:31] dancing at the encampment, alongside other anti-Israel activists.

On April 26, 2024, the New York Post reported: “The anti-Israel tent encampment at Columbia University is being led by a cohort of controversial student leaders…these students are the ones negotiating directly with leaders of the Ivy League university – holding campus hostage with dozens of tents and hundreds of protesters splayed out on the lawn…” The article quoted Khalil saying: “The university understood that we cannot operate on timelines. We cannot operate under time pressure.”

In an April 27, 2024 Quds News Network (QNN) interview posted on X, Khalil said [00:00:05] in Arabic: “We have been negotiating since last night for more than 11 hours with the university to meet our demands regarding the cutting economic and academic ties with Israeli universities and the universities involved in slaughtering our Palestinian people…”

On April 29, 2024, Bwog Columbia Student News reported: “…Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) held a press conference to address the end of negotiations and the University’s plans to clear the Encampment…” Speaking on behalf of CUAD, Khalil said: “…the students in this Encampment are a gift to Columbia” and “…the University should be proud of its student activists rather than suspend them and ‘trample its reputation.’”

On April 30, 2024, a user posted on Instagram a video interview from CNN in which Khalil was asked [00:00:01]: “Are you…going to listen to the University and leave the encampment here?” Khalil replied [00:00:04]: “Of course not! The University is the one who should listen to us. They should listen to their student body who are demanding to end the war that’s happening in Palestine. Our…demands are clear…regarding divestment from the Israeli occupation that companies that are profiting [sic] and…contributing to the genocide of our people…”

Asked by CNN [00:00:47]: “How far are you all willing to go here on campus?”, Khalil replied [00:01:08]: “…the students will remain here…until they achieve their…demands.”

On April 30, 2024, USA Today reported: “The school…suspended graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, lead negotiator for Columbia University Apartheid Divest in talks with the administration that have failed to resolve the crisis.”

On May 2, 2024, the BBC, in a news brief titled: “Columbia student has suspension reversed,” reported: “…Mahmoud Khalil…was suspended yesterday. Today…Khalil received a surprising message: it was abruptly reversed.” Khalil reportedly said: “[They said] that after reviewing the evidence, they don’t have any evidence to suspend…”

The BBC report said: “Khalil, a Palestinian international student who was born in [sic] raised in Syria, said that the thought of suspension had ‘been stressful,’ given that his visa in the US is dependent on his status as a student.”

On April 26, 2024, The Verge reported: “Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student who has been involved in the negotiations with Shafik’s office, also spoke, saying international students were especially at risk. ‘I am here on a foreign visa. That’s why for the past six months, I’ve barely appeared on the media,’ Khalil said.”

The encampment was also in support of the BDS movement.

See Profile: Khalil led rallies just days after Hamas’ massacre, pushing Hamas slogans like “From the river to the sea.”

Unmasking Pro-Terror Activism in America

Since 2014, Canary Mission has monitored and exposed individuals and organizations that propagate antisemitism, violence and terror-affiliated ideologies in the United States.

Canary Mission applauds our research being utilized by legal experts to take action against those who promote terrorism and antisemitism. This lawsuit reaffirms the need to expose extremists and their activities in the U.S.

We have long warned about the dangerous infiltration of Hamas-affiliated groups into American academia and activism. This lawsuit is a critical step in ensuring that those who facilitate terrorism are brought to justice.

For more information, read the Canary Mission report on Columbia From Tehran to Columbia: Inside America’s Student Intifada

To learn more about the pro-terror organizations operating in America, read Bringing the War Home.

Canary Mission Profiles and Reports Cited in Lawsuit

In addition to citing the defendants’ profiles, the lawsuit references two other Canary Mission profiles and several reports as key evidence linking U.S.-based activists and organizations to Hamas support. Below are the individuals and materials cited in the case.

Charlotte Kates
Status: Professional
State: British Columbia
Org: Al-Awda, BDS, NLG, PFLP, Samidoun, USACBI
University: Rutgers
Charlotte Lynne Kates is affiliated with a designated foreign terrorist organization. Kates has glorified terrorists, shown support for terror groups and supported intifada violence. She has also spread hatred of Zionism and Israel.

Khaled Barakat
Status: Professional
State: British Columbia
Org: BDS, Masar Badil, PFLP, Samidoun, WOL
Khaled Barakat is a leader of a foreign terror organization and has shown support for other terror groups. Barakat has also spread hatred of Zionism and Israel. He was reportedly banned from entering the European Union.

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