US Representative hails Columbia University students' solidarity with Gaza

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Representative Ilhan Omar expressed solidarity on Monday with students at New York’s Columbia University who are protesting Israel’s war in Gaza and are calling for a cease-fire in the enclave.

"On Thursday, Columbia arrested and suspended its students who were peacefully protesting and have now ignited a nationwide Gaza Solidarity movement," Omar, whose daughter Isra Hirsi was also arrested during the protest, said on X.

"This is more than the students hoped for, and I am glad to see this type of solidarity. But to be clear, this is about the genocide in Gaza and the attention has to remain on that," she added.

Monday marked the sixth day of pro-Palestinian protests condemning Israel's offensive on Gaza, which has displaced over 75% of the coastal enclave's estimated 2.3 million people and resulted in over 34,000 deaths, according to Gaza health officials.

Over 100 students were arrested at Columbia on Thursday as they were staging a sit-in after Columbia University President Minouche Shafik called on the New York Police Department (NYPD) to clear the demonstration.

The action has only emboldened the protest movement, however, with protests spreading to other campuses, including Yale and New York University, where dozens of people were arrested on Monday.