Minneapolis Fraud Scandal links Pro-Palestine Protest Funding through Daughter of Ilhan Omar and Minnesota Scam Network

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), has been actively involved in pro-Palestinian activism, particularly during campus protests in 2024. In April of that year, she helped organize and participated in an anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University (where she was a student at affiliated Barnard College). The protest involved setting up tents on campus to demand that the university divest from companies tied to Israel, call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and end what protesters described as complicity in genocide. Hirsi was among more than 100 demonstrators arrested by New York police for trespassing after university president Minouche Shafik authorized the removal of the encampment.

She was zip-tied for several hours during the arrest and subsequently suspended from Barnard, which revoked her access to campus housing and dining services—leading her to publicly state she was temporarily "homeless" and without reliable food.

Hirsi has described the protests as part of her "destiny" as an activist, emphasizing solidarity with Palestinians and criticizing Israel's military actions.

Her mother, Ilhan Omar, expressed pride in her daughter's stance, visiting the Columbia site and tweeting support amid the controversy.  Critics, including groups like Canary Mission, have accused Hirsi of supporting terrorism based on her rhetoric and associations, though she and supporters frame her activism as advocacy for human rights and against apartheid.

The broader pro-Palestinian campus protests, including the Columbia encampment where Hirsi was involved, have been organized and supported by networks of left-wing advocacy groups. Key players include Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP, with over 200 campus chapters), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), IfNotNow, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), the Adalah Justice Project, and Palestine Legal.

These organizations provide logistical support, legal aid, training, and fellowships for student activists, often framing the protests as calls for divestment from Israel, an end to U.S. military aid, and Palestinian liberation "from the river to the sea."

Funding for these groups often flows through fiscal sponsors like the Tides Foundation (which takes a cut of donations and manages grants) and the Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation (WESPAC, sponsor for National SJP).

George Soros' Open Society Foundations (OSF) has been a major donor, providing over $15 million since 2016 to groups behind these protests, including $875,000 directly to JVP (2017-2022), $700,000 to USCPR, and millions more via intermediaries like Tides (which received nearly $14 million from Soros and his son Alex).

Other prominent funders include the Rockefeller Brothers Fund ($500,000 to JVP) and the Pritzker family's Libra Foundation (backing allied progressive groups).

OSF describes its grants as supporting human rights, justice, and anti-hate efforts for both Palestinians and Israelis, with transparent disclosures.

Fact-checks emphasize that while OSF funds organizations involved in protests, there's no evidence of direct payments to individual protesters; connections are indirect (e.g., general operational support or fellowships for activism, not specific protest stipends), and claims of Soros "paying radicals" often involve multiple degrees of separation or exaggeration.

Critics, including conservative outlets, argue the funding enables radical anti-Israel agitation with ties to groups like Hamas.

Tides has faced lawsuits, such as a $33 million fraud claim from Black Lives Matter Global Network over mishandled funds, highlighting scrutiny on its role in progressive funding.

Connections to Minneapolis tie in through Ilhan Omar, whose district includes the city and who has been a vocal pro-Palestinian advocate in Congress (e.g., criticizing Israel's policies as apartheid and supporting BDS-like measures).

Omar's campaign has received donations from Soros-linked entities, including $5,000 from MoveOn.org (Soros-funded) and $1,000 from Bend the Arc PAC (chaired by Alex Soros), as well as from SJP founder Hatem Bazian and CAIR (a pro-Palestinian group).

In turn, Omar's campaign has disbursed funds to pro-Palestinian causes, such as $1,559 to the D.C.-based Palestine House of Freedom, which hosted fundraisers for Birzeit University (a West Bank institution with reported Hamas student council dominance).

Minneapolis has a strong pro-Palestinian activist scene, including demands for state divestment from Israel (e.g., 200 protesters at a 2024 Minnesota State Board of Investment meeting pressuring Gov. Tim Walz) and groups like the MN BDS Community.

 Local media, like Minnesota's Garage Logic radio show, has linked Soros' protest funding to Omar's "Squad" affiliations and her support for such causes.

While OSF has no publicly documented direct grants to Minnesota-based pro-Palestinian groups, its national funding supports the ecosystem Omar and local activists draw from, creating an indirect loop through her political network and the city's Somali-American community (a key Omar base with pro-Palestinian sentiments).

Critics allege this forms a web of influence enabling anti-Israel agitation, while supporters view it as legitimate advocacy funding. 17GEN4.com