Barnard College has suspended Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, after she participated in a pro-Palestine protest on campus.
Hirsi revealed the suspension Thursday in a post on X. An organizer with a student-led "Apartheid Divest" campaign, Hirsi wrote that she had "received notice that I am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.”
Hirsi had taken part in a protest encampment that was cleared by police, who arrested more than 100 demonstrators.
Hirsi attends Barnard College, a women's college that is part of Columbia University. In a statement, Barnard said students had been asked to leave the encampment and advised "that they would be subject to sanctions at Barnard if they did not leave the encampment."
According to the school, students were informed that they would receive interim suspension if they did not comply.
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to X to question Hirsi's punishment, which came a day after a House hearing where lawmakers questioned Columbia officials about the school's response to a rise in antisemitism since Hamas’ Oct. 7th attack on Israel.
"How does a student with no disciplinary record suddenly get to a suspension less than 24 hours after a nonviolent protest?" Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "What merits asymmetric crackdowns on Palestinian human rights protests?"
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