(PartiallyPolitics.com) – Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Representative Ilhan Omar, announced on the social media platform X that she has been suspended from Barnard College. This disciplinary action came in response to her participation in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. Hirsi is an organizer with CU Apartheid Divest Columbia [Students for Justice in Palestine], and claimed that despite her three years at Barnard without prior disciplinary issues, she and two other students were suspended for their solidarity with Palestinians.
The protests, which began on Wednesday, saw anti-Israel activists setting up an encampment on the campus’s main lawn to protest against Israel’s actions in its conflict with Hamas. The demonstrations escalated, continuing into the night with intense expressions of anger and calls for an intifada, as well as the end of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The context of the protests was heightened by Columbia University President Minouche Shafik’s congressional testimony on Wednesday, where she faced intense questioning about antisemitism on campus. During the hearing, Representative Omar brought attention to an alleged attack using a toxic chemical substance at an anti-Israel protest, which court documents later identified as a non-toxic prank spray.
Representative Jamaal Bowman linked the timing of Hirsi’s suspension to her mother’s critical questioning of Columbia’s president the previous day, suggesting that the suspension was a form of political retaliation by the institution.
In response to the protests, Columbia University took action against students participating in the unauthorized encampment, resulting in suspensions. Barnard College began identifying and placing students on interim suspension Thursday morning, following attempts to clear the encampment and multiple warnings to the students involved.
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