Lawsuit alleges former University of Michigan employees were fired for participating in protests
Pro-Palestinian protestors gather on University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus on March 14, 2025 to call for the release of Columbia University organizer Mahmoud Khalil | Photo: Anna Liz Nichols
Former employees of the University of Michigan are suing the leadership of the school, alleging that their employment was terminated after they engaged in pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Detroit by the Sugar Law Center and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, asserts the university's actions are in violation with the employees' constitutional rights of freedom of speech, petition and assembly.
The university attributed all firings and blacklisting to violations of the school's policies on community violence, but the lawsuit states neither the seven student employees nor the full-time employee who faced repercussions for their participation in protests on campus enacted any sort of violence and complied with police instructions during the events.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Civic engagement has long been a hallmark of the university community, the lawsuit states, noting University of Michigan students throughout history have protested for different causes on campus including demanding an end to the Vietnam War.
But as members of the university community hold protests demanding the university divest from companies tied to Israel's war in Gaza, the lawsuit states that since the deadly October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the university has completely changed its response to protest activity on campus.
'Since October 7, 2023, the University has solely targeted, discriminated against, and punished students for engaging in speech and protest activity in support of Palestine and calling for the University to divest from Israel as a means of pressuring Israel to cease human rights violations against the Palestinian people, including crimes against humanity and genocide,' the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit notes that divestment is a reasonable effort for protesters to pursue as the university has divested before, including divesting from tobacco companies in 2000, South Africa in the 1970's and 80's and Russia in 2022. The lawsuit further notes that never before has peaceful participation in protests on the university's Ann Arbor campus resulted in termination or permanent ineligibility for rehire, as it has for these employees.
University of Michigan spokesperson Kay Jarvis said, 'the university does not comment on litigation' in response to Michigan Advance's request for comment on the lawsuit.
The protests at the heart of the lawsuit are a November 17, 2023 sit-in protest outside the university president's office and a May 3, 2024 protest outside of the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
During the May 2024 protest, the lawsuit said protestors stood outside the art museum while several of the university's regents were inside the building for a private event. Protestors linked arms and chanted and moved back to continue their protest after university police set up a barrier around the entrance of the art museum.
Months later, five university employees who participated in the protest were sent correspondence informing them that their employment was terminated and they were permanently not eligible for rehire for violating the university policies against community violence.
Four of the individuals who were fired months after the protest were not employees of the university when the protest was held, according to the lawsuit, which added that all the former employees who participated in the November 2023 and May 2024 protests participated in their own personal time.
During the November 2023 protest, the lawsuit says one particular student, Zaynab Elkolaly, attempted to join the sit-in protest outside the university president's office, entering the Ruthvan Building, when she became caught between a crowd trying to enter the building and police officers at the entrance.
'While turned away from the entrance to leave and with her back to the police, she was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by a University of Michigan police officer. While being thrown to the ground, her hijab was ripped off,' the lawsuit says.
Months later, after Elkolaly had graduated and was no longer an employee at the university, but was planning on applying for work at the school, she received a letter from the university saying she was ineligible for rehire due to violating the school's policies against violence.
'Each of the Plaintiffs was a dedicated University employee who took their job duties seriously, conducted exemplary work, and performed necessary services for the University,' the lawsuit states, adding that the processes the university enacted to terminate employment or bar future employment for the former employees robbed them of due process to combat retaliation by the university for their civic engagement.
The lawsuit seeks to force the university to repeal actions it took against the plaintiffs' employment statuses, recover damages from loss of employment and any other relief that would be considered just in this scenario.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
An Israeli soldier was taken hostage on October 7. In ceasefire plea, his mother releases video of his brutal capture
The family of an Israeli soldier held hostage by Hamas has released new footage of the moment he was pulled from his tank and captured by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attacks. The video shows the soldier, Matan Angrest, surrounded by a dozen men atop the turret of an Israeli tank. The men, whose faces are blurred in the video, then lower Angrest, head first, off the tank into the arms of Palestinian militants, who barely catch him. It is unclear whether Angrest is conscious in the video. His body is limp and tumbles forward as he is tossed off the side of the tank. One man can be seen kicking Angrest before he is thrown off the tank. Another man below appears to slap Angrest as he falls to the floor. In an interview, Angrest's mother said she decided to publish the video because she fears that her son has been 'left behind' and wants the public to know that he is in a critical situation. 'I don't feel the commitment of the government for Matan as an Israeli soldier like I felt the commitment of Trump to American citizens – a big gap,' Anat Angrest said. 'If the government wants soldiers to still serve her, she has to worry about the soldiers and to bring them home like the other citizens.' While her husband saw the video months ago, she only watched it for the first time on Sunday night. 'For me as a mother, it's the hardest thing to watch – to know about my son. Every mother knows that her kid from the first cry of a baby, we are worried about our children,' Anat Angrest said. 'It's the hardest situation for me as a mother.' This is the latest attempt by Angrest's family to sound the alarm about his deteriorating medical condition in captivity. They say he is suffering from chronic asthma, has untreated burns and has suffered infections during his captivity, according to the testimony of hostages who were held with Angrest. Keith Siegel, the American-Israeli hostage who was released in February, told CNN last month that he was extremely concerned for Angrest's physical and mental wellbeing. The two were held together for more than two months. The video released Monday appears to have been recovered by the Israeli military from the belongings of Palestinian militants, according to the watermark on the video. Angrest said her family did not release the video for months at the urging of the Israeli military, but said she now feels she has no choice as the Israeli government pushes for yet another partial deal that would see about half the remaining hostages released. 'We were quiet about it for a year and a half, but we understood that our quiet is very comfortable to leave Matan behind,' she said. Angrest is one of 55 hostages still held by Hamas and one of 20 still believed to be alive, according to the Israeli government. As a male Israeli soldier, Angrest is believed to be at the bottom of the list of hostages to be released – considered a high-value hostage by Hamas and one for whom the Israeli government will likely have to pay a steep price. Anat Angrest believes her son's concerning medical condition should be taken into account and, like many of the hostage families, called for the release of all the hostages and an end of the war. Ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations between Israel and Hamas have sputtered along in recent weeks, yielding no agreement. A framework proposed by the US would see about half the living and deceased hostages released in exchange for a 60-day temporary ceasefire. Hamas has insisted on stronger guarantees from the US that negotiations to end the war will continue – and the fighting will not resume – after that temporary ceasefire expires. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Left-wing activists like Greta Thunberg care more about fame than facts
As yet, Greta Thunberg has not had her money shot. In terms of Insta-activism, her seafaring jaunt to deliver aid to Gaza has been farcical. It was always going to be. First, let me say two things clearly. I totally support more aid going into Gaza: food and medicine are needed. I want us to stop selling arms to Israel. While I support the right of Israel to exist, I do not support its right to keep on killing the people of Gaza. It's unbearable. But the last thing the Israel-Gaza conflict needs is more martyrs, especially cute eco-warriors in short skirts. It also doesn't need hypocrites – particularly ones who also claim to champion women's rights. The great irony is that Greta, with her exposed legs, dissenting views and freedom to express them, would not be tolerated by Hamas. But clearly that's by the by. When it comes to the moral high road, the likes of Thunberg seek to occupy ALL of it, no matter how muddled the thinking. This is precisely the problem. Pretending you can sail into a war zone and 'help' is a grandiose delusion. But, of course, Greta and her 'aid boat' were largely a symbolic protest. What matters above all are the images of the selfie-yacht and the attention they can garner. Being boarded and detained (or, as she puts it, 'kidnapped') by Israeli forces gave her exactly what she had hoped for to kick against. But unfortunately for Thunberg, who had handily pre-recorded a video for just such an event, the actual image of the 'kidnap' is her smiling as she is being handed a pastrami sandwich by an Israeli soldier. This image will forever be compared with the horror show of the actual kidnap of hostages by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. There are girls younger than Greta, with bloodied pants, their Achilles tendons cut; a mother clutching her two red-haired children whom we now know are dead; a terrified old lady being abducted. It is said that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will force Thunberg and her crew to watch the brutal footage recorded on October 7. I doubt this will make much difference. In 2023, the IDF showed Hamas body cam footage collected after the Nova festival attack to the press in London. Most of the viewers were in tears but certain activist 'journalists' came out saying there was no proof of women being raped as they had not been shown that. Thunberg, like so many of her generation wrapped up in their made-in-China keffiyehs, are not interested in the specifics of this conflict. This is what happens when a young girl with a penchant for protest becomes too feted. She addressed national parliaments and Davos as a climate activist and was interviewed everywhere, so she must have grasped the fact that her youth and passion energised many. Unsurprisingly, then, her symbolic power was soon commodified as she appeared at protest after protest, morphing effortlessly from climate change activism to Palestinian solidarity. Political activism is now algorithmic. Hey, if you liked that cause, then try this one. The 'Left' these days often seems little more than a collection of disparate causes: eco stuff, trans rights and Free Palestine. The contradictions between these beliefs are underplayed as they become bundled together as an omnicause. I first heard that word used in 2023. The omnicause can incorporate everything from animal rights to emptying the jails. Forget the single issues that require specific, often boring campaigning: the omnicause is a moronic vacuum where analysis goes to die. It is a product partly of the horizontalisation of social media. By this, I mean that something such as Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police, which had relevance in America a few years ago, gets picked up here… even though we have a quite different population and methods of policing. Those protesting what is happening in Gaza are not all uninformed, but many are. Younger people recruited from Just Stop Oil (and now presenting as Youth Demand) have stopped soup-throwing in favour of this new pressing cause. But they have not talked about famine in Yemen or the atrocities of Sudan. Interconnectedness has its limits, after all. There may well be links between climate change and war. Many argue that drought was a factor in the unrest that led to the Syrian civil war. The omnicause, though, does not do specifics. It favours symbolic demonstrations that can go viral. These simplistic spectacles of righteousness often backfire. What did Fossil Free Books achieve, for instance? It decided to campaign against companies that had any connection to Israel. The result was that investment firms such as Baillie Gifford stopped funding book festivals. How this helped either the environment or indeed the Palestinian cause is something of a mystery. Thunberg's stunt has been similarly self-aggrandising and vacuous. Watching footage of this climate activist and her mates all chucking their expensive phones into the sea as they were about to be taken by the Israelis showed that, of course, when the chips were down, environmental concerns went out of the window. The omnicause does not require logic, consistency or even coherence. It is closer to acting than activism. It depends on melodrama and a narrative of provocative images. Thunberg may be brave and have been prepared to sacrifice herself – though for what, exactly, I am not sure. But now we have seen the pictures, I am afraid that what she has sacrificed has been her integrity. The omnicause burns itself out in the end because it has no actual strategy. It simply signifies tribal loyalty. It gobbles everything up and spits out its participants, who simply move on to the next 'wrong' thing. You might think that, for Thunberg, her ship has sailed. But that does not mean she won't clamber aboard the next one that hoves into view. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.


New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Alleged ‘Hamas operative' organized Greta Thunberg's failed attempt to break Gaza blockade: report
A British-Palestinian journalist who has long-been accused of being a 'Hamas operative' served as a key figure who helped launch the aid vessel carrying Greta Thunberg and other international activists who were detained by Israel, according to a new report. Zaher Birawi, 63, the head of the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza and founding member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was at the launch of the Madleen ship a week ago as he praised Thunberg and the other activists traveling to challenge Israel's blockade on the Palestinian enclave. Birawi, who also heads the EuroPal Forum nonprofit to support Palestinians, has been repeatedly accused of having Hamas links, with a 2012 photograph showing him attending an event alongside slain Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the Telegraph reported. 5 Zaher Birawi, 63, has been repeatedly accused of having links to the Hamas terrorist group. Facebook/Zaher Birawi 5 Birawi has backed several sailing missions to challenge Israel's blockade over Gaza. Facebook/Zaher Birawi Birawi, a vocal critic of Israel's policies in the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly denied the allegations that he has any links to terrorist crimes. There's no evidence to suggest Birawi has helped facilitate any of Hamas' crimes. The allegations first surfaced in 2013 when Israel identified him as a Hamas operative working in Europe, with his nonprofit labeled a terrorist organization in 2021 for alleged ties to the Palestinian terror group. The EuroPal Forum has strongly denied any terror links, claiming it was unfairly targeted for its work abroad advocating for Palestinian rights. Birawi was eventually awarded compensation when he sued the NatWest financial database for allegedly putting him on a terrorism watch list. 5 Zaher Birawi attended a 2012 forum with Pro-Palestinian activists who took a picture with then-Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Ministry of Strategic Affairs 'My legal team relied primarily on the fact that there has never been any legal sentence passed against me by any official authority in any state anywhere in the world, and that never have I been found to have been involved in any illegal acts which could be deemed within the scope of terrorism crimes,' Birawi said at the time. The Palestinian advocate was accused again of being 'a Hamas operative' by Labour MP Christian Wakeford following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel. 5 Birawi helped lead demonstrations in London against the war in Gaza. In Pictures via Getty Images Wakeford used parliamentary privilege to slam Birawi as a 'serious national security risk' and accused him of obtaining British citizenship 'through the use of fake documents.' Birawi slammed Wakeford's claims as baseless. The UK, which like the US lists Hamas as a terrorist group, has not taken action against Birawi. Birawi did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. 5 Birawi has repeatedly slammed the allegations against him as baseless. Facebook/Zaher Birawi Birawi has spoken out against Israel's invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, with the advocate helping organize multiple protests in London against the war. His latest criticism was aimed at the Israel Defense Forces after the military detained the activists aboard the Madleen on Sunday. 'In a piracy operation in international waters and 150 nautical miles from Palestinian waters, the Israeli navy took control of the ship Madleen and abducted the allies on board,' he wrote over the weekend. 'The Freedom Flag Alliance demands international intervention to ensure their safety and release,' he added. The Madleen ship, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, set sail on June 1 with 12 activists onboard, including Thunberg, a Swedish climate campaigner, and Irish actor Liam Cunningham. The group aboard the charity ship aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza's refugees, including much-needed baby formula and simple nutrition like rice. The IDF had repeatedly warned the ship to turn back, vowing that nothing will break the naval blockade in Gaza, which has existed since Hamas seized power in 2007.