Portland State Professor in Viral ‘I Am Hamas’ Video Sues University for $7M in Discrimination Retaliation Lawsuit

Portland State University

Portland State University professor Yasmeen Hanoosh, whose "I am Hamas" remark at a 2025 protest went viral, has filed a $7 million lawsuit accusing the university and its president of discrimination, retaliation, defamation, and violating her constitutional rights.

The suit, filed this week in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleges that PSU and President Ann Cudd destroyed Hanoosh's career by mischaracterizing her off-campus comments as support for terrorism and antisemitic ideology.

Hanoosh, a tenured Arabic language and literature professor, says the fallout from the viral clip led to her suspension, harassment and ultimately a layoff notice issued last week as part of broader faculty cuts. She is seeking $7 million in damages, as well as retractions or corrections of PSU's public statements about the incident, according to OPB.

The controversy stems from a June 2025 pro-Palestine protest in Beaverton, Oregon, where a brief video showed Hanoosh responding to a counterprotester by saying, "I am Hamas. We are all Hamas," while gesturing to other demonstrators.

The clip circulated widely on social media and was amplified by local media, prompting intense criticism and calls for her removal. Hanoosh has maintained that the statement was sarcastic, taken out of context, and part of a longer private exchange that was edited down to a few seconds.

Shortly after the video surfaced, PSU placed Hanoosh on paid administrative leave and announced an investigation, with Cudd calling the video "reprehensible" and the statements "absolutely unacceptable" in a campus-wide message.

The U.S. Department of Education was already investigating PSU over allegations of antisemitism at the time, increasing scrutiny on the university's handling of campus speech related to the Israel-Hamas war, PDX reported.

Hanoosh's lawsuit now claims the university used her as a scapegoat to demonstrate toughness on antisemitism while disregarding her rights.

According to the complaint, an internal PSU investigation later concluded that Hanoosh had not violated university policies, but administrators still kept her off campus and failed to correct earlier public statements.

The suit further alleges that PSU did not take adequate steps to address the hate mail and threats that flooded her university email after the video spread online. Hanoosh's attorneys argue that the university's actions created a hostile work environment and discriminated against her based on her national origin and political speech, as per WWeek.