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Ilhan Omar's daughter arrested at Columbia pro-Gaza protest, photos show

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Omar, said she was one of just three students who were suspended.

Published: April 18, 2024 5:17pm

The daughter of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was reportedly arrested Thursday, photos show, after she was suspended from Barnard College at Columbia University over her participation in an anti-Israel protest.

Shayoni Mitra, a senior lecturer in Barnard's theater department, posted pictures on X, formerly Twitter, of Omar's daughter, Isra Hirsi, being arrested.

Hirsi, an organizer with the student group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, said earlier in the day that she had been suspended due to her participation in the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" that occupied the school's quad. 

More than a dozen protesters were arrested Thursday after Columbia University President Nemat Shafik asked the New York Police Department to help arrest demonstrators for trespassing,

Hirsi's arrest and suspension comes one day after Omar grilled Shafik during a congressional hearing

Hirsi said she was one of just three students who were suspended. However, the university told Fox News it was still identifying and notifying students who participated in the protest and helped create an encampment on the university’s grounds.

"I’m an organizer with CU Apartheid Divest Columbia [Student for Justice in Palestine]. In my 3 years at Barnard College I have never been reprimanded or received any disciplinary warnings,” Hirsi said in a post to X. "I just received notice that i am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide."

The encampment featured more than two dozen tents, including port-a-potties, and stretched overnight. Students could be heard calling for the death of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and for an "intifada," according to a Just the News reporter on the ground.

New York Democratic lawmaker Jamaal Bowman claimed Hirsi’s suspension was politically motivated, since it happened the day after Omar grilled the university professor about free speech and academic expression.

"The day after @IlhanMN questioned Columbia leadership's commitment to free academic expression, the school suspended her daughter? It's clear what is happening here," Bowman posted to X. "Our educational institutions should not be in the business of political reprisals."

Omar has not publicly commented on her daughter’s arrest so far, or returned Just The News request for comment.

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