NEW YORK — The attorneys general of 21 US states last week backed a lawsuit that October 7 victims filed against leading anti-Israel protesters in New York, in a significant show of support.

The lawsuit, filed in March in the federal Southern District of New York court, accused the activists of acting as “Hamas’ propaganda arm” in New York City and its Columbia University campus, in violation of federal anti-terrorism laws.

Immediately after the October 7 invasion, Hamas called for support from the “resistance abroad” and released a manifesto titled “Our Narrative.” The defendants followed those directives to aid the terrorist group, the lawsuit claimed.

The Columbia activists also shared statements supporting designated terror groups on the Telegram messaging app, such as tributes to the late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas’s Yahya Sinwar, distributed Hamas material on campus, and celebrated the October 7 attack on its anniversary, the lawsuit said.

The attorneys general, echoing the complaint in the lawsuit, accused the activists of spreading terrorist propaganda, citing, for example, a “Day of Resistance Toolkit” that some of the activists shared on October 8, 2023.

The toolkit, published by National Students for Justice in Palestine, included instructions for activists, talking points for defending the Hamas attack, orders to organize “Day of........

© The Times of Israel