Isra Hirsi, the daughter of left-wing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, says she has nowhere to live or eat after being suspended for participating in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.
Hirsi, 21, was part of one now Days of protest on the Ivy League campus in support of Palestine drew heavy condemnation from both sides of the political spectrum, including the White House.
She and two of her classmates from Barnard College — the college is a sister school to Columbia — are among more than 100 protesters arrested, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com.
Hirsi, junior Soph Askanase and freshman Maryam Iqbal were all suspended. Hirsi has now revealed that she has been evicted from campus housing and banned from the dining hall, leaving her without shelter and food.
‘I was a bit panicky, like: where am I going to sleep? Where am I going? And also all my shit gets thrown into a random lot. It’s pretty horrible,” she said Teen fashion.
Isra Hirsi, the daughter of left-wing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, says she has nowhere to live or eat after being suspended for participating in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.
“I don’t know when I can go home, and I don’t know if I ever will.”
She said the Bernard College administration has sidelined her when it comes to getting food.
“I sent them an email like, ‘Hey, I rely on campus for my meals, I rely on my meal plan,’ and they said, Oh, you can come pick up a pre-packaged bag of food 48 hours later. “I have been suspended,” she said.
“There was no food support, nothing.”
Hirsi, 21, showed a worried expression as she was seen in handcuffs alongside many other sit-in pro-Palestinian protesters, who were issued summonses for trespassing.
She said she was taken to Police Plaza 1 in Manhattan, where she was held for hours.
‘We had so many people born as women in our group that they didn’t have enough room for us. It was a very slow process to get everyone into the cells,” Hirsi said.
Hirsi (pictured right with her mother), 21, was part of a now days-long protest in support of Palestine that has drawn heavy condemnation from both sides of the political spectrum, including the White House
Hirsi, junior Soph Askanase and freshman Maryam Iqbal were all suspended. Hirsi has now revealed that she has been evicted from campus housing and banned from the dining hall, leaving her without shelter and food.
“I was zip-tied for about seven hours and wasn’t released until after eight hours,” adding that she wasn’t released until a total of thirteen hours after her arrest.
Hirsi, however, saved her harshest words for Laura Rosenbury, Barnard’s president, who she said overreacted.
“I think it really varies from school to school, and Barnard has decided to take a very blatant stand against us,” Hirsi said.
She said Rosenbury and Barnard leadership “feels like there’s not a lot of attention on them right now and they have the opportunity to do that because [Columbia President Minouche] Shafik was on the conference stage and is being actively harassed about what she is doing.”
Multiple lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said Shafik should resign, including Democrat Sen. John Fetterman.
Hirsi said most of Barnard’s students are “femme-identifying” and are warned that if they leave their dorm, they won’t be allowed back in. Baranard is an all-female university.
She says she will remain homeless at least until she gets a hearing from the school on Monday.
What she hopes is that the focus will be taken away from college campuses and back to the plight of the people of Gaza, whom she says Columbia has “complicity in genocide.”
Hirsi, however, saved her harshest words for Laura Rosenbury (pictured), Barnard’s president, who she said overreacted
Buses full of protesters were marched away as students hurled insults at NYPD officers
“Many of us are grateful that people are paying attention and noticing how severe our repression on campus has been, but it has been a little frustrating to focus on Columbia instead of what is even happening in Gaza,” she said.
“We’re stopping it, but we’re stopping it for Gaza, not just because of the people who have been suspended; and the repression stems explicitly from the fact that we were fighting to end the war in Gaza,” she added.
Omar, for her part, praised her daughter in a social media post after her arrest.
‘I am extremely proud of my daughter. She has always led with courage and compassion, from organizing a statewide school walk on the twentieth anniversary of Columbine at age 15, to leading the largest youth climate rally at our nation’s Capitol at 16- years old, and now pushing her school to stand against genocide.”
The White House joined a chorus of people from across the political spectrum criticizing pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University for anti-Semitic rhetoric during demonstrations on campus Sunday.
“While every American has the right to peacefully protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation against Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly anti-Semitic, unconscionable, and dangerous—they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the world.” United States. States of America,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said.
New York City’s Democrat Mayor Eric Adams also targeted the protesters in a post on
“I am shocked and disgusted by the anti-Semitism expressed on and around the campus of Columbia University,” he wrote.
Tensions reached a boiling point since protesters pitched their tents on the university’s south lawn at 4 a.m. Wednesday. Several fights broke out when they were met by pro-Israel counter-protesters.
For the fifth day, pro-Palestinian students occupied a central lawn on the campus of Columbia University
Tensions had reached boiling point since demonstrators set up tents on the university’s south lawn at 4 a.m. Wednesday, with several fights breaking out when they were met by pro-Israel counter-protesters.
For the fifth day, pro-Palestinian students occupied a central lawn on the campus of Columbia University.
Dozens of New York Police officers have entered the so-called ‘Gaza solidarity camp’.
Ten students have been charged so far, mainly for resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.
A large group of demonstrators gathered outside the university gates on Saturday, as student demonstrators returned to the main lawn, waving flags and chanting.
In testimony before Congress, Shafik defended the students’ actions and insisted she had made efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
Shafik claimed that the “vast majority” of campus protests have been “peaceful” and said the college is focused on upholding freedom of expression but “cannot and should not tolerate abuse of this pledge to intimidate and discriminate.’
She noted that she held daily meetings with the campus security team and worked closely with the NYPD and FBI on cases where hate crimes were reported.
Protests on university campuses have exploded in recent months as the war in the Middle East continues.
However, these have only increased amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has left more than 30,000 Palestinian civilians dead.