Ilhan Omar Delivers Speech to Pro-Palestine Protesters at University of Minnesota

US Rep Ilhan Omar joined hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters who staged a walkout at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus on Tuesday, April 23.

In a speech, the Minnesota Democrat criticized President Joe Biden for his response to the wave of student protests against the war in Gaza, and praised protesters.

“It’s been incredibly painful for the last five days to see the discovery of a mass grave of more than 200 Palestinians in Khan Yunis. That our media, our elected politicians, our president, every single leader is spending time and energy in talking about the protests as if you all are not here to give voice to the genocide that is taking place in Gaza,” Omar said.

“I am incredibly inspired by the fact that you all are standing up for humanity, that you are saying the anti-war movement in this country is not dead,” she said.

Omar’s daughter Isra Hirsi was among a group of protesters arrested at Columbia University last week. Credit: Oriane Sachs-Bernstein via Storyful

Video transcript

Student body in putting your bodies on the line to stand in solidarity to end the genocide that is taking place in Gaza.At this moment, I have to tell you, it's been incredibly painful for the next last five days to see the discovery.While there is a discovery of a mass grave of more than 200 Palestinians in ke that our media, our elected politicians, our president, every single leader is spending their time and energy in talking about the protests as if you all are not here to give voice to the genocide that is taking place in Gaza.What started out five days ago with only 70 students organizing themselves at Columbia University has now led to a nationwide university movement and that did not happen because those students in Colombia thought that this was possible.It happened because the university decided to not honor its long standing history of allowing the freedom of expression, the freedom to descend, to allow what our nation stands for and why we have the first amendment enshrined in our constitution by shutting down, by shutting down the Columbia encampment and making the arrests on Thursday.They have galvanized students at every corner in our nation and the globe.Not only to come out to stand in solidarity with those brave and patriotic students who stood up to say, not on my time.Are you going to invest and stay complacency in genocide?Not on my watch.Am I going to allow you to forget that over 34,000 people in Gaza have been massacred to say not in my watch.Are we going to allow the highest number of Children killed in a war in the last 10 years to take place with our tax dollars?To say not in my watch?Am I going to allow our university and its president to pretend as if every single student has not come out to say Columbia divest from this genocide.Colombia utilize the resources we provide for you in a transparent way.Colombia provide amnesty to the students that have been exercising their first amendment right to dissent that you have now suspended and evicted from your colleges.So I am incredibly inspired by the fact that you all are standing up for humanity that you are saying the anti war movement in this country is not dead for saying our country has had a long history of young people saving itself from destruction.I had the honor and the privilege to serve with the great John Lewis.Every single colleague of mine, whether they are a Republican or a Democrat called him a hero.But in the sixties.Would he have been considered a hero when he was arresting every other protest?Would he have been considered a hero when he was doing the sit ins?Would he have been considered a hero when he was leading young people to stand up for their civil liberties?Would he have been considered a hero?No, when he was getting his head bashed in by fascist police, would he have been considered a hero?Who now we honor him?We honor him for the liberties he's extended for us.We honor him for the sacrifices he made.We honor him for the fact that he inspired a generation to lift up his name as an example of what must be done back then.They called him trouble.Now they celebrate him as good trouble, right?Martin Luther King.Martin Luther King Junior is someone that all of us have learned about in the history books.It is someone whose poster you see nearly every room you go into.How many times was he arrested?Too many?Too many?How many times was he called a terrorist?Too many?Did you know over 40% of Americans said he was responsible for his own death, his own.And today those same people sing his praises.Those same people say our nation is different.Our nation is more united, more diverse and civilly liberated because of him.So I say to you do not allow anyone to tell you the fact that you are standing up for what is right is wrong.They are the ones that are, you will one day be celebrated in the history books because this is a just cause and the people who tell us we are wrong for being out here.They are going to be footnotes in the history books.Like to ask what was wrong with you.Their Children might not want to claim them as their ancestors.Your Children will stand proud and say this was my mother.This was my father.This is my parents.So while your universities and your colleges turn back on the promise on the promise that your education was supposed to be rooted in the fact that you were going to be strengthened as a better human, as a more just person in this world, as somebody who has a holistic education, as somebody who speaks truth to power, do not turn yourself into what they want you to be.Follow your gut and know that what we are doing, the voices that we are raising to save lives in Gaza is a just and righteous and morally correct.And I will say this before I leave.Not every cause we stand up for has to be personal, not every cost we stand up for has to be personal.People will tell you why are you here?You're not Palestinian as they did to the people that were part of the Rainbow Coalition with Martin.Luther King, people will tell you why are you risking your education and your livelihood.As they told those young organizer, college organizers with John Lewis, people will tell you that you will be blacklisted.As they told their greatest hero, Martin Luther King Junior.And I want you to know what you are doing today might seem difficult with every student and faculty.Thank you to faculty and staff.What all of you are doing?People will say it is wrong, but I know you are right, the country knows you are right.And definitely I will tell you the young people who are just like you who have dreams and aspirations in Gaza right now that is being snatched from them, see you and appreciate being seen by you.So thank you for being here and please please stay steadfast.Hold on.Congresswoman, congresswoman Congress, hold up.Congresswoman, congresswoman congresswoman, can we get a round of applause for congresswoman?Yeah, you one of the few congress people that has the courage to stand up and speak out against Israel.One of the very few, another round of applause for the congresswoman.