Progressive Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s activist daughter Isra Hirsi revealed on Thursday that she has been suspended from Barnard College for participating in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. Hirsi said in a social media post that she was one of three students suspended for supporting Palestinians amid what she described as a genocide they are facing.
“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,” Omar’s 21-year-old activist daughter wrote on X. “I just received notice that I am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide,” Hirsi added.
Suspended for Protesting Against Israel
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“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,” another post from Hirsi read.
Hirsi and the two other students, identified as Maryam Iqbal and Soph Dinu, were informed of their suspension by Barnard Dean Leslie Grinage on Thursday morning, according to a statement from Apartheid Divest.
“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,” the dean’s email read, according to the student group.
Hirsi’s suspension coincides with the arrest of at least three people overnight in connection with the ongoing tent protest on the Ivy League school’s Morningside campus.
Protest to Continue
The Barnard junior, who is one of three children Rep. Omar shares with her ex-husband Ahmed Hirsi, had previously posted footage of herself taking part in the controversial protest, describing it as a “huge historic moment.”
In a follow-up tweet revealing her suspension, a determined Hirsi said that protesters “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 wrote.
Hirsi, who identifies herself as an “angry black girl” on X, has been actively tweeting amid the school’s anti-Israel protests. She even shared a tweet from her mom expressing solidarity with the protesting students.
Omar, a progressive Democrat, faced repercussions from Republicans in February last year when she was removed from the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee due to her anti-Semitic remarks.
