Ilhan Omar’s daughter suspended from Columbia University over Gaza protests

NEW YORK — The daughter of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said on Thursday she has been suspended from Columbia University over her participation in an encampment in solidarity with Gaza.

Isra Hirsi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “i just received notice that i am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.” 

Hirsi said she is a student at Barnard College, a school within Columbia University, and an organizer with the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine group. She said that she has been participating in the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus.

“Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. we will stand resolute until our demands are met,” she said on the social media site, adding that they demand Columbia divest from “companies complicit in genocide.” 

Students erected dozens of tents at Columbia University on Wednesday as part of a protest to demand the school divest from Israel. A group of pro-Israel counter protesters gathered in the area as well.

Hirsi did not respond to Al-Monitor’s request for comment. She was identified by the New York Times, the Hill and other outlets as Omar’s daughter. The congresswoman endorsed the encampment on Wednesday.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said on Thursday that officers were dispatched to Columbia to disperse the protestors, acting on the request of university officials. 

“School officials had previously determined that the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the University,” said Daughtry on X. 

Videos on social media show students being detained by NYPD officers. 

In a Thursday statement, Barnard College said that students had been warned to leave the encampment and that some were suspended for allegedly not complying. 

“Members of the Barnard Senior Staff provided participants in the unauthorized encampment with written warnings at approximately 7 p.m. on April 17. These written warnings stated that students would receive interim suspensions if they did not leave the encampment by 9 p.m. on April 17,” said the school. “This morning, April 18, we started to place identified Barnard students remaining in the encampment on interim suspension, and we will continue to do so.”

A spokesperson for Barnard College told Al-Monitor that the school cannot provide further information on confidential student proceedings. 

US universities have become battlegrounds between activists on both sides since the start of the Gaza war.

On Wednesday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee, of which Omar is a member, held a panel on allegations of antisemitism related to pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia University. 

During her questioning of university president Minouche Shafik, Omar accused Columbia University of arbitrarily targeting a group of students it suspended earlier this month for their participation in an event on the conflict. 

The students were suspended for their alleged involvement in an unauthorized event entitled “Resistance 101.” The event featured Khaled Barakat, an alleged member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), according to the Columbia Spectator. The PFLP is designated as a terrorist organization by the US government.  

Shafik said that “people who were inciting violence” had been invited to the event, prompting the university to take action.