An IU doctoral student sued the university for violation of her First Amendment rights after being removed from a university event for pro-Palestine advocacy.

According to the suit, Günther Jikeli, interim director of IU’s Jewish Studies Program, removed Religious Studies PhD candidate Sabina Ali from a hybrid virtual and in-person workshop event hosted by the program in September.

The suit alleges the reason Ali was removed as a virtual participant was her profile picture of a woman wearing a keffiyeh, a Middle Eastern headdress. It also had the words “Free Palestine” and the image of a Palestinian flag.

Following Ali’s removal from the virtual conference room, Jikeli allegedly sent an email to faculty and staff affiliated with the Jewish Studies program describing Ali’s profile picture as that of a “Palestinian terrorist.”

Two weeks after the Zoom removal, the lawsuit alleges, Jikeli vetoed funding that had already been approved for Ali to travel and present her research at a major academic conference. The suit describes denial of a funding application as “unheard-of.”

Ali filed a complaint with the university’s Office of Civil Rights Compliance in October. That was denied.

The suit was filed in federal district court in Indianapolis. It names the Board of Trustees of Indiana University, IU College of Arts and Sciences Dean Rick Van Kooten, and Jikeli as defendants.

Ali is represented by lawyers with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group.

Ali, Jikeli, and Van Kooten could not be reached for comment.