Student who said, ‘Zionists don’t deserve to live’ loses appeal
Khymani James sued university for racism after suspension
A former Columbia University student who said “Zionists don’t deserve to live” during a livestreamed disciplinary meeting has had his lawsuit against his college dismissed.
A New York state judge ruled that Caribbean-American Khymani James failed to adequately plead discrimination.
He livestreamed the January 9 2024 online meeting with Columbia’s Center for Student Success and Intervention, set up to discuss James’ earlier antisemitic comments that Zionists who wanted to “meet up and fight” should know that he “fights to kill”.
According to Conservative US media outlet The Daily Wire, “he felt endangered and wanted to show what he viewed as Columbia’s repression of pro-Palestinian students and people of colour.”
During the meeting, James said he was “very comfortable” calling for Zionists to die and compared killing Zionists to killing Nazis, Fascists, and racists: “Zionists don’t deserve to live comfortably, let alone Zionists don’t deserve to live. The same way we are very comfortable accepting Nazis don’t deserve to live, Fascists don’t deserve to live, racists don’t deserve to live, Zionists, they shouldn’t live in this world.”
He also said: “Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life, and I hope to keep it that way.”
The live stream then went viral across social media.
Columbia suspended him one day after The Daily Wire reported his comments on April 25. At the time, James was participating in the university’s ongoing anti-Israel encampment, where he served as a media liaison and “member of the safety team.”
His request to re-enroll for the fall 2025 semester was denied because of what Columbia described as “insufficient” reflection on the conduct that led to his suspension.
James accused Columbia of discriminating against him because of his race and support for Palestinians, violating his rights under New York and New York City human rights laws, and failing to follow its own disciplinary procedures when it suspended him.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Waterman-Marshall dismissed James’ complaint on July 3, 2026.