New York, April 17 (RHC)-- Students at Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City have set up dozens of tents on campus to create what they are calling a Gaza Solidarity Encampment. 

Isra Hirsi, a student at Barnard who is the daughter of Congressmember Ilhan Omar, told journalists: "I am a organizer with CU Apartheid Divest.  Today, we have over a hundred-plus people who have come together to form the Gaza Solidarity Encampment.  Today, we are calling for divestment.  We are calling for amnesty for suspended students, as well as transparency from Columbia University on what they invested.”

The encampment began hours ahead of Columbia University President Minouche Shafik’s scheduled testimony before Congress.