“From L.A. to Rafah, there is one common oppressor — Death to the colonial empire,” warned Isra Hirsi, daughter of Minnesota “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, in a viral Instagram post praising anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles while linking U.S. immigration enforcement with the Gaza conflict, and casting both the U.S. and Israel as colonial powers to be violently dismantled.
As radical protesters clashed with police and ICE agents in downtown L.A., far-left activist Isra Hirsi publicly endorsed the unrest and connected it to the war in Gaza, stating: “From L.A. to Rafah, there is one common oppressor. Death to the colonial empire. Life for our children.”
The message, calling ICE and Israel part of the same “colonial oppressor” system, drew sharp criticism for glorifying violence.
A sitting congresswoman’s daughter is calling for the death of America and Israel.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) June 9, 2025
Isra Hirsi has been arrested at antisemitic encampments that endangered Jewish students. Now she posts “Death to the colonial empire.”
This is dangerous and cannot be ignored, @Ilhan. America… pic.twitter.com/Qi0LhEWlyq
While anti-ICE riots included Molotov cocktails, smashed windows, and chants of “Free Palestine,” Hirsi’s framing appeared to suggest that American immigration law and Israeli national defense — both part of the same colonial structure — should be resisted through violent revolution. Her post reflects a growing far-left trend of linking U.S. law enforcement to global causes like Gaza — alarming critics who see it as a veiled call for violent domestic uprising.
The matter comes as rioters in Los Angeles — many waving Palestinian flags and chanting for an “intifada” — turned protests over ICE raids into coordinated violence, fueled by pro-Hamas rhetoric under the banner of “anti-colonial” resistance.
New York: Left-wing activists demonstrate in solidarity with protesters in Los Angeles against the Trump administration's enforcement of immigration policies
— Dr. Fundji Benedict (@Fundji3) June 11, 2025
The leader of the demonstration wears a headband of the Hamas military wing on her forehead and chants:
From Mexico to… pic.twitter.com/YnHuNwi4bz
In March, Hirsi promoted a fundraiser for Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who was arrested and facing deportation over his role in violent campus activities.
View this post on Instagram
Khalil was accused of being a “Hamas sympathizer who espouses violent, anti-American views,” with the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) student organization — which he served as a senior activist in — calling for the “total eradication of Western civilization.”
Khalil’s CUAD group publicly supported arsonist Casey Goonan. Goonan is accused of lighting a police car on fire at UC Berkely in protest of the U.S.’s support for Israel’s military operations. pic.twitter.com/GAQ6fJXoVM
— Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) March 12, 2025
The fundraiser, launched after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Khalil, has so far surpassed $570,000, more than doubling its initial $250,000 goal.
Hirsi was previously suspended from Barnard, a liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University, for her involvement with the unauthorized “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” that was later dismantled by officers with the NYPD.
I am enormously proud of my daughter @israhirsi.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 19, 2024
She has always led with courage and compassion, from organizing a statewide school walk out on the 20th anniversary of Columbine at the age of 15, to leading the biggest youth climate rally at our nation’s Capitol at 16, and now…
In response, her mother, Somalia-born Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN), stated she was “enormously proud” of her daughter.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at