‘Anti-Zionism Is Not Antisemitism’

Protests erupted on campuses around the United States as the ferocious Israeli war in Gaza unfolded after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel led by Hamas. These protests — speakouts, marches, civil disobedience, and other actions — continued into the spring of 2024.

On March 24, 2024, students at Columbia University in New York set up the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” demanding the university “divest from Israeli apartheid.” On April 18, the university president authorized the New York Police Department to sweep the encampment, leading to the largest mass arrest on campus since 1968, when 86 Black students were arrested three weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Then, on April 29, dozens of protesters stormed Hamilton Hall at Columbia and blockaded themselves inside. They unfurled a banner reading “Hind’s Hall” after Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

The next day, New York City police were again deployed, entering the building with shields in hand, some of them drawing guns before entering the rooms. Dozens were arrested, with officials citing burglary, criminal mischief, and trespassing. Ultimately, charges were dropped against student protesters with the agreement by the university that it would initiate its own disciplinary processes against those involved.

During the initial occupation of the building, however, two janitors were trapped inside and injured trying to get out. A suit was filed on their behalf in federal court against The People’s Forum (TPF). The nonprofit had hosted student organizing meetings and its leaders were outspoken in support of the protests. The suit claimed that the workers were injured “in furtherance of a conspiracy to deny the civil rights of people who are, or are perceived to be, Jews or supporters of Jews,” citing TPF’s anti-Zionist position.

The janitors have also filed a suit in state court, claiming assault, battery, and infliction of emotional distress.

On June 9, 2026, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the federal suit with prejudice. “No political cause can justify what happened to these [employees],” she wrote, “but not every instance of despicable political behavior can be remedied by a lawsuit brought pursuant to the federal civil conspiracy statute.” She further cited Stand with Us v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology in which the U.S. Court of Appeals, First District, found that opposition to Zionism and the actions of the state of Israel is not inherently antisemitic.

This victory follows on a February 27, 2026, New York Supreme Court ruling that Columbia’s expulsions, suspensions, and degree revocations of the pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied Hamilton Hall were faulty because they were based on “evidence” from sealed arrest records.

These are important victories for free speech. As political activists face more attempts by federal authorities — and the institutions that they have cowed — to curtail fundamental democratic rights, precedents like these will be a valuable part of the fightback.

It is also important to underline here the danger of the use of “conspiracy” charges in this case and more broadly. In a 2023 article on the indictments against Trump at the time, World-Outlook highlighted how the government uses such charges to criminalize free speech.

“Clarence Darrow, one of the most important defense attorneys of the 20th century and an ardent defender of civil liberties, championed this idea,” the article noted. “As The First Amendment Encyclopedia explains, ‘Darrow thought conspiracy laws were unconstitutional.’ He ‘took unpopular cases — representing labor-movement clients charged with violence, treason, and conspiracy — to give voice to ‘the weak, the suffering, and the poor’ by defending their First Amendment rights to free speech, to a free press, and to petition the government.’ His clients included socialist leader Eugene Debs.

“Citing Darrow’s biographer, the encyclopedia adds, ‘Darrow, a brilliant defense attorney, considered the First Amendment to be the written guarantee that the government could place ‘no fetters on thought and actions and dreams and ideals of men, even the most despised of them.’”

World-Outlook is publishing for the information of our readers the following news release by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, which represented The People’s Forum. The headline and text below are from the original. Photos are by World-Outlook.

— World-Outlook editors 

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Tuesday, June 9, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Federal Court Dismisses Civil Rights Conspiracy Claims Against Pro-Palestine Activists and The People’s Forum: Anti-Zionism Is Not Anti-Semitism

Washington, D.C. — June 9, 2026 — In an important victory for free speech, a federal court has dismissed with prejudice all civil rights conspiracy claims brought against The People’s Forum and other individual defendants arising from the April 2024 occupation of Hamilton Hall — Hind’s Hall — at Columbia University. The ruling is a vindication of the right of The People’s Forum (TPF) and others to engage in political speech condemning U.S.-backed Israeli war crimes and genocide, and to call for support of encamped student activists demanding divestment. The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) represented The People’s Forum in the litigation.

In a ruling issued June 1, 2026, Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed all federal claims under 42 U.S.C. §1985(3) and §1986. The now dismissed lawsuit was brought by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Torridon Law on behalf of two Columbia University employees. The Brandeis Center argued that it constituted anti-Semitic hatred for the TPF to engage in free speech to support encamped students, call for divestment from Israel, and condemn Israeli violence. The PCJF argued that the Brandeis Center was conflating anti-Zionism, a protected political viewpoint, with anti-Judaism in an effort to repress and suppress those who oppose Zionism or who condemn Israeli crimes and genocide.

The Court squarely rejected the plaintiffs’ arguments, ruling that they failed to state a claim on every theory advanced against TPF.

Critically, the Court rejected the plaintiffs’ central contention that opposition to Zionism or to Israeli government policy constitutes evidence of anti-Semitic animus. Adopting precedent from the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge McMahon held that “the choice to criticize Israel’s actions in Gaza does not necessarily manifest antisemitism,” and noted that opinions on Israel’s policies differ “even among Jews and Israelis.” The Court aptly noted, even “the Jewish community itself is divided over whether anti-Zionism is inherently antisemitic.”

“The conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is a political tactic to shut down and penalize those who, like The Peoples Forum, stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine. This ruling makes clear: The TPF is well within its protected rights to stand up for human rights and civil rights and to oppose genocide. This is a ringing victory for freedom of speech,” said PCJF Legal Director Carl Messineo and counsel to TPF.

“The Court’s rejection of this act of ideological lawfare intended to silence pro-Palestine viewpoints is a decisive victory for the freedom of speech. As the Court recognized, criticism of Israel and its war on Gaza is political speech entitled to First Amendment protection. There is no Palestine exception to the First Amendment,” said PCJF Staff Attorney Sarah Taitz and counsel on the litigation.

“This lawsuit is part of an organized ideological attack on the movement for justice for the Palestinian people including opposition to U.S.-backed genocide. We have seen a steady stream of these types of politically driven and meritless lawsuits across the country,” stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the PCJF and counsel on the litigation. “We are very glad to see that this assault on free speech through the abuse of the court system was ultimately dismissed. We will continue to litigate in defense of the First Amendment and against this politically motivated onslaught.”

The People’s Forum stated: “We welcome the court’s decision, which affirms a core First Amendment principle: organizations cannot be penalized for engaging in protected free speech activity. Lawsuits like this one are intended to silence organizations like ours by draining the resources of those who speak out, and we hope this ruling discourages others from using the legal system to suppress the movement in solidarity with Palestine. Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism, and no lawsuit can change that. The People’s Forum is grateful to our legal team and to everyone who stands on the right side of history.”

All claims against The Peoples Forum were dismissed with prejudice, with the Court denying leave to amend as “futile.”

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The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) is a free speech, constitutional rights, and civil rights organization that has represented thousands of individuals and organizations in defense of constitutional rights for more than 30 years across the U.S. The PCJF is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a West Coast office in Oakland, CA. For more information visit www.justiceonline.org or follow us on Bluesky, X, and Instagram: @thePCJF.

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