Federal Judge Tosses Palestinian Grad's Bias Case

Harassed, doxed, subject to false accusations - a former Palestinian law student says Northwestern University refused to protect her. Now she faces an uphill battle in federal court.

A new minority group has emerged that appears to be toxic to both institutional authority and the federal courts.

The plight of Palestinians is demonstrated in the case of Yasmeen Elagha, a hijab-wearing Muslim woman who suffered years of vicious racial and ethnic harassment as a student at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law in Illinois (NU).

Elagha accused NU and several NU deans of ignoring her repeated pleas for help in a federal lawsuit that was summarily dismissed this week without a trial by Senior U.S. District Judge Charles P. Kocoras.

Judge Kocoras, a 1980 nominee of Democratic President Jimmy Carter, ruled that Elagha failed to state a valid claim against NU, and that NU Deans Hari Osofsky, Susan Michelle Spies Roth, and George Langford have immunity and cannot be individually sued.

He said Elagha could file another complaint against NU -which would be her third - by Nov. 17.

Lightning Rod

Elagha became a lightning rod for pro-Israeli activists a year prior to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel because of her pro-Palestinian, anti-war advocacy. Among other things:

• Elagha asked NU to issue a no-contact directive after a fellow student said she was “personally gunning for” Elagha. Her request was ignored.

• A fellow student, “M.M.,” falsely reported that she was assaulted and battered by Elagha at a November 2023 protest. Without contacting Elagha, NU police posted the false allegation on its website. The NU Office of Civil Rights concluded, after reviewing video evidence, that this was untrue and M.M. recanted her allegations to an NU dean.

  Elagha was doxed - personal information about her scholarship was published online.

• Students threatened Elagha and other Palestinian students, stating “We know people high up in university,” and “Good luck getting jobs after this.” NU failed to discipline them.

• A fellow student, “S.M.,” threatened to publish Palestinians students’ addresses online. NU failed to discipline her.

• Elagha felt unsafe on campus in the fall of 2023. Northwestern excused her attendance at classes but refused to grant her a remote learning accommodation. She had to teach herself a year’s worth of coursework and complete all exams within a two-week period prior to graduation in May 2024. Despite this, Elagha secured a job offer from a prestigious global law firm, DLA Piper.

Job Offer Withdrawn

In May 2024, Tony Kinnett, a columnist with The Daily Signal, a right-wing publication affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, emailed Elagha asking her about the false assault report. Elagha told NU officials that a story would cause her to lose her job offer from DLA Piper.