Jewish Columbia University professors on Tuesday filed a claim with the university about antisemitism they faced while supporting protests in support of the Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.

The professors filed the claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, accusing the university of taking “sides in a complex international crisis, and punished faculty and other employees who did not step in line with the university’s official positions,” according to a statement.

They said Columbia took several actions against members of the community whose views “conflicted in any way with the ardently pro-Zionist and pro-Israeli position, even or especially if those community members were Jewish.” They added that they were criticized for supporting Palestinian rights and protesters against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

The professors and faculty “were called ‘kapos,’ ‘self-hating Jews’ and other epithets, labeled antisemites, suffered unfounded and harassing disciplinary investigations, received death threats, and otherwise made to feel that they were unwelcome on Columbia’s campus,” according to a statement which included excerpts from Jewish faculty members.

“Some were fired, forced into retirement, removed from important administrative positions, or otherwise punished for taking positions that conflicted with the University’s favored, pro-Zionist views,” the statement continued.

Joseph Howley, a classics professor, wrote in his claim that he and other Jewish faculty tried to mediate between student protesters and the university’s administration.

“We spoke as Jews about the University and how we thought it should protect its interests; we were attacked as Jews, or as bad Jews, or as fake Jews, by people who carried the University’s authority or knew they had its implicit support,” he said.

Many of the excerpts from faculty members described a hostile climate for Jews, criticizing what they said was the university’s implication that all Jews identify with Israel, calling that “textbook antisemitism.” Many faculty members said they opposed Zionism and Israel’s actions on moral or religious grounds, citing disagreement held within their families for decades.

Another professor said the banning of Jewish groups critical of Israel, claiming they were antisemitic, “meant that the University had decided to take a stand on what it was appropriate for a Jew to believe.”

The Hill reached out to Columbia University for comment.

Last July, Columbia agreed to pay the Trump administration $221 million in a deal to restore federal funding that the government halted following a probe into antisemitism on campus. The administration claimed at the time that Columbia had failed to combat hate against Jewish students.

The $200 million portion of the settlement will go to the federal government for a three-year period, and $21 million will go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Columbia was one of several major universities, including Harvard University, accused by the administration of poorly handling claims of antisemitism on their respective campuses.

Last month, Harvard asked a federal judge to dismiss the Trump administration’s lawsuit accusing the university of antisemitism. The university’s lawyers contended that as “this litigation is a continuation of the Government’s unconstitutional retaliation campaign against Harvard, the Government’s claims are barred in their entirety under the First Amendment.”

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