(Headline USA) Fellow “Squad” members rushed to the defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after her daughter was arrested this week for taking part in a disruptive anti-Israel protest at Columbia University.
Irsa Hirsi attends Barnard College—one of four Columbia undergraduate schools— and is listed as an organizer of the Apartheid Divest student group.
She was taken into custody by the New York Police Department and issued summons on trespassing charges, along with 100 other students. She later revealed she had been suspended from Barnard for “standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.”
“Squad” Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., defended Hirsi and blasted Columbia University for its efforts to hold her accountable.
He also suggested Hirsi was only punished because of her relation to Omar, who was part of a House Education and the Workforce Committee panel that had grilled Columbia President Nemat Shafik earlier this week.
“The day after @IlhanMN questioned Columbia leadership’s commitment to free academic expression, the school suspended her daughter?” Bowman tweeted. “It’s clear what is happening here. Our educational institutions should not be in the business of political reprisals.”
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.
Our educational institutions should not be in the business of political reprisals. https://t.co/qX2I83lFrV
— Rep. Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (@JamaalBowmanNY) April 18, 2024
During the hearing, Shafit opted to take a different approach than that of the Harvard and University of Pennsylvania presidents, who resigned last year after their testimony before the same committee was deemed anti-Semitic.
“Anti-Semitism has no place on our campus, and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to confront it directly,” Shafik said in her opening comments
Omar, who faced a censure by the House last year for her anti-Semitism, took the side of pro-Hamas student rioters.
“This is not an honest conversation that we are having today in this committee,” she said.
Other “Squad” members also rushed to Omar’s defense over her daughter’s suspension.
“What is going on here @BarnardCollege @Columbia?” tweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez, D-N.Y. “How does a student with no disciplinary record suddenly get to a suspension less than 24 hours after a nonviolent protest?”
What is going on here @BarnardCollege @Columbia?
How does a student with no disciplinary record suddenly get to a suspension less than 24 hours after a nonviolent protest?
What merits asymmetric crackdowns on Palestinian human rights protests? https://t.co/omIFZLcvpl
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 19, 2024
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who recently refused to condemn “Death to America” chants, called the arrest “appalling” and claimed Hirsi and other anti-Israel activists were “being retaliated against for using their constitutional rights to protest genocide.”
From UM to Vanderbilt to USC to Columbia, students across our country are being retaliated against for using their constitutional rights to protest genocide. It’s appalling. https://t.co/Z4qKDCK1IF
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) April 18, 2024
Omar, however, has not publicly weighed in on her daughter’s arrest yet.
After being released by the NYPD, Hirsi vowed to continue protesting.
“Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated,” she tweeted.
“We will stand resolute until our demands are met,” she continued. “[O]ur demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression.”
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
