U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., praised her daughter Friday, a day after the Ivy League college student was arrested in New York City while participating in an anti-Israel protest.
“I am enormously proud of my daughter @israhirsi,” Omar wrote on X.Â
“She has always led with courage and compassion, from organizing a statewide school walk out on the 20th anniversary of Columbine at the age of 15, to leading the biggest youth climate rally at our nation’s Capitol at 16, and now pushing her school to stand against genocide.
“Stepping up to change what you can’t tolerate is why we as a country have the right to speech, assembly, and petition enshrined in our constitution.”Â
Isra Hirsi was among more than 100 people arrested and issued a summons for trespassing Thursday after protests at Columbia University. Hours earlier, she said she had been suspended from Barnard College for “standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.”
ARREST OF ILHAN OMAR’S DAUGHTER AT ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST WAS POLITICAL, FELLOW ‘SQUAD’ MEMBER SAYS
“Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated,” Hirsi wrote on X. “We will stand resolute until our demands are met. our [sic] demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression.”
Dozens of anti-Israel activists began protesting at Columbia University Wednesday morning, creating an encampment on the main lawn in protest of Israel’s war against Hamas.Â
The school asked the New York Police Department to help clear out the encampment.Â
In a message to students, Columbia President Minouche Shafik said these “extraordinary steps” were necessary “because these are extraordinary circumstances,” adding that protesters “violated a long list of rules and policies.”
Omar questioned Shafik this week during a hearing in Washington about antisemitism on college campuses.Â
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