Who is US congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s daughter, arrested and suspended? Isra Hirsi took part in Columbia University’s pro-Palestine protest – of which her Somali-American mum is ‘enormously proud’
Minnesota, US Congresswoman, refugee and history-maker Ilhan Omar, 41, has applauded her daughter Isra Hirsi’s protest at New York’s Columbia University, which led to the 21-year-old getting suspended.
Omar, revered in some quarters as the face of the future of politics and derided by others in public domains, particularly on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), has always cut a controversial image.
Here’s what you need to know about Omar’s politics and how her daughter is carving out her own powerful path – starting with the latter, as it’s Hirsi’s recent actions that first sparked viral attention in the US.
The Columbia University protest
A few days ago, on April 18, Hirsi was suspended from Barnard College at Columbia University over her participation in a pro-Palestine protest – and her politician mum could not be prouder. The congresswoman said on X, “I am enormously proud of my daughter” adding that Hirsi has “always led with courage and compassion”.
Per HuffPost, Hirsi is a third year at Barnard, a women-only college. She is also an organiser of student coalition Apartheid Divest, which has led campaigns to urge the university to stop relationships with companies that support Israel.
According to New York Post, more than 100 protesters were arrested after they erected a tent city on Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus of the Ivy League school, whose tuition costs US$90,000 a year.
Hirsi stated on X that she was one of three students who were suspended over the protests at the time, despite never previously receiving a disciplinary warning of any kind.
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In an interview with Teen Vogue following her suspension and arrest by the New York Police Department, Hirsi said she was effectively left homeless following her eight-hour stint in and eventual release from jail, and that all her belongings had been “thrown in a random lot” after the suspended students were only given 15 minutes to retrieve their items from the dorms while accompanied by a public safety escort – which Hirsi elected not to do.
Politics runs in the family
Per New York Post, Hirsi grew up attending political rallies. Her bio on X reads “angry Black girl”.
During testimony in Congress by Columbia University president Nemat Shafik, who claimed that anti-Semitism was on the rise on campus, it was Omar who sought to dispel the conflation of anti-war protests with anti-Jewish hate, adding that certain pro-Palestinian students were sprayed with a foul-smelling chemical at Columbia and were “harassed and intimidated” in other instances, according to Al Jazeera reports.
On X, Hirsi said that despite her suspension, she would not be “intimidated”, adding that students who are part of the Gaza solidarity encampment will “stand resolute until our demands are met”.
Omar, meanwhile, has called for a ceasefire of Israel’s military operation in Gaza. Her comments over Israel and Palestine have landed her in hot water since 2021, New York Post reports, even resulting in her being taken off the House Foreign Affairs Committee last year because of alleged anti-Semitic remarks.
History-making moves
According to Time, Omar made history in 2016 when she became the first elected Somali-American lawmaker in the country, in a Minnesota state district. At the time, she said the US is a “land of immigrants” with most people entering the country for a second chance.
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Omar’s immigrant life story
Omar fled Somalia with her family when she was eight years old, according to her bio on the US House’s website. She has spoken about witnessing the horrors of civil war. Her family moved to a refugee camp in Kenya and later moved to Virginia in the US, reported Time.
Looking to the future
Omar also told Time that, since becoming a mother, she became even more invested in politics “to strive for something better”.
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She has three children: Ilwad, Adnan and Isra. In an interview with Minnesota Daily, she said that she would be looking to extend her political career because she believes “we are facing threats to our democracy. We’re facing threats to reproductive rights. We are facing threats to America being seen as a beacon of hope in regard to our immigration policy.”
That backlash against Ilhan Omar’s speech
One of the biggest controversies Omar has faced in her career is when a mistranslated clip – showing that she had seemingly said she was “Somalian first” – went viral, creating outrage on social media and within political circles.
The Squad
- Over 100 students were arrested at the protests, including Hirsi – she’s also 1 of a handful of participants to be suspended, and spoke about getting barred from accessing her dorm at Barnard College
- Omar joined forces with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and 3 other progressive women lawmakers in 2016, presenting a united front against then President Donald Trump as The Squad