Yasmeen Hanoosh, a tenured Arabic professor at Portland State University, sued the Oregon public university after it placed her on administrative leave over a video in which she said, “I am Hamas, we are all Hamas.”
According to the lawsuit, which was transferred from Oregon state court to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on June 24, Hanoosh stated that she made the remark sarcastically during an off-campus exchange with pro-Israel demonstrators following a June 2025 Beaverton School Board meeting. She alleges that the video circulated online was selectively edited and stripped her comments of their context.
Portland State President Ann Cudd publicly denounced the remarks as “reprehensible” and “absolutely unacceptable,” linking them to antisemitism and support for terrorism, according to the court filing.
The university subsequently placed Hanoosh on administrative leave and opened an investigation. According to the complaint, Portland State ultimately found she had not violated university policy but had damaged her reputation.
Hanoosh is seeking $7 million in damages.
