Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and her daughter, Isra Hirsi, appeared Thursday at an anti-Israel encampment that was set up on Columbia University’s campus in New York City.
Photos from the duo’s appearance on Columbia’s campus showed a smiling Omar standing alongside her daughter as they interacted with other people who were participating in the demonstration’s efforts on campus.
Omar’s arrival on the school’s campus comes as several colleges and universities around the United States brace for what is yet to come as more and more anti-Israel protests sweep the nation.
Hirsi announced last week in a post on social media that she had been suspended from Barnard College for her involvement in anti-Israel demonstrations on Columbia University’s campus. Law enforcement sources later confirmed to Fox News that Hirsi had been arrested and issued a summons for trespassing.
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Omar praised her daughter following the suspension, saying she was “enormously proud” of Hirsi for standing “against genocide.”
“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,” Omar wrote in a post to X. “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.”
Dozens of anti-Israel activists began demonstrating at Columbia University last week, creating a group of encampments on the main lawn in protest of Israel’s war against Hamas. Fiery protests have continued with calls for an intifada and the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Omar, whose views on Israel have been repeatedly criticized by her Republican colleagues in Congress, suggested Wednesday that the Gaza cease-fire encampments at Columbia University are being “co-opted and made to look bad” by public officials and members of the media.
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“Throughout history, protests were co-opted and made to look bad so police and public leaders would shut them down. That’s what we are seeing now at Columbia University,” Omar wrote on X.
“The Columbia protesters have made clear their demands and want their school not to be complacent in the ongoing Genocide in Gaza. Public officials and media making this about anything else are inflaming the situation and need to bring calmness and sanity back.”
Social media videos from the anti-Israel demonstration that’s been staged for days on Columbia’s campus show activists cheering on the deaths of Israeli soldiers and showing support for Hamas. Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe on campus and shared stories of being verbally and physically assaulted.
“They were pushing and shoving me… They threw rocks at my face. At that moment, my life was totally threatened. And there was no safety authority on campus,” one student told NY1 over the weekend.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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