'Squad' Member Ilhan Omar's Daughter Suspended from Her University for Anti-Israel Protest
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
A daughter of anti-Israel Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has been suspended for her involvement in an anti-Israel protest.
Isra Hirsi posted on April 18 that she had been suspended from Barnard College in New York City, where the cost of attendance tops $90,000.
“[I’m] an organizer with CU Apartheid Divest @ColumbiaSJP, in my 3 years at @BarnardCollege i have never been reprimanded or received any disciplinary warnings i just received notice that i am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide,” she posted on social media platform X.
those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. we will stand resolute until our demands are met.
our demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression
— isra hirsi (@israhirsi) April 18, 2024
“[T]hose of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. we will stand resolute until our demands are met. our demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression,” she added in another post on X.
Hirsi and the two other students were notified April 18 of their suspension, Apartheid Divest said in a statement, according to the New York Post.
“This decision is based on information received from Columbia University Public Safety that you have been involved in an unauthorized encampment on the Columbia University campus and you have not ceased participation in this unauthorized encampment despite repeated requests from Barnard and Columbia on April 17, 2024 that you do so,” an email from Dean Leslie Grinage read.
The protest received the support of Omar.
“Columbia has always had an incredible history of students fighting for a more just world and it’s good to see that tradition continue. As NYPD surrounds young activists, I hope their concerns are heard by school administrators and they not be criminalized. In solidarity,” she posted on X.
Others were less sympathetic.
I’ll buy their tickets back to Somalia and drive them to the airport.
— a_nativist (@a_nativist) April 18, 2024
Barnard College has just suspended Ilhan Omar’s daughter for her involvement in pro-Hamas and Iran protests at Columbia University.
Supporting terrorism should be grounds for immediate expulsion!
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) April 18, 2024
Hirsi’s suspension comes after at least three people were arrested overnight for their roles in the protest on Columbia’s campus. More arrests took place Thursday, with the Washington Times reporting that Hirsi was among those arrested.
Columbia University President Nemat Shafik opposed the protest, according to NBC.
“I have determined that the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the University,” she wrote in a memo to police.
Shafik said anti-Israel students were trespassing, damaging campus property and refusing to end their protest.
“Columbia is committed to allowing members of our community to engage in political expression — within established rules and with respect for the safety of all,” the memo said.
In a congressional hearing recently during which Shafik denounced anti-Semitism, Omar upbraided her over Columbia’s suspension of six students earlier this month over an anti-Israel protest on the school’s campus.
“There has been a recent attack on the democratic rights of students across the country,” Omar said.
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