**“Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Campaign Donates to Washington D.C. Nonprofit Linked to Palestinian University with Alleged Terrorist Ties**
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a member of the progressive “Squad,” recently made headlines after her campaign sent over $1,500 to a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that has partnered with a Palestinian university accused of having terrorist affiliations, according to newly released Federal Election Commission filings.
### Palestine House of Freedom: Mission and Location
The nonprofit, known as the Palestine House of Freedom—or by its Arabic name, “Dar Alhurriya”—is headquartered just blocks from the U.S. Capitol building. According to a video featured on the organization’s website, it is “dedicated to the liberation of Palestine” and aims for “the dismantling of apartheid in Palestine and the establishment of a free, democratic state from the river to the sea.”
The group’s website characterizes Israel as “operating as an apartheid state” and emphasizes its mission to launch “an aggressive educational campaign targeting everyone from lawmakers, staffers, the media, to the general public.” The goal is to demonstrate how dismantling apartheid and establishing a free, democratic Palestine “from the River to the Sea,” with equal rights for all, “is the path to peace and will benefit all parties involved.”
### Campaign Donation Details
Federal filings reveal that Omar’s campaign, Ilhan for Congress, contributed $1,559.25 to Palestine House of Freedom in September for “Event Tickets.” However, the specific event linked to this payment remains unclear.
### Controversy Surrounding Birzeit University
Earlier this year, Palestine House of Freedom attracted media attention for hosting a fundraiser in June benefiting Birzeit University — a Palestinian institution reportedly tied to terrorist activities. The university’s student council elections have consistently favored the Hamas-affiliated Al-Wafaa bloc, earning Birzeit the label “Terrorist University” in some reports, including from the Washington Reporter.
There have been reports that student parades on campus included participants marching with mock suicide bomb vests and rockets, according to Memri TV. A Fox News Digital review found that the Hamas-affiliated Al-Wafaa bloc has won numerous student council elections at Birzeit since the 1990s, including in 2022 and 2023.
Following the 2023 election, a senior Hamas operative described the victory as an “extension” of their movement. Ismail Haniyeh, former head of Hamas’ Political Bureau who was reportedly assassinated by Israeli Defense Forces last year in Tehran, stated in an interview with Middle East Monitor that the bloc had “proven its ability to adapt to changes, overcome complexities, and fill the void created by arrests, martyrdom, or deportation.” He further affirmed Hamas’s enduring presence, vowing to confront the “occupier, oppression and terrorism.”
This was not the first time Hamas leadership praised the Al-Wafaa bloc’s success at Birzeit; similar commendations were reported back in 2017.
### Congressional Concerns Over Harvard’s Partnership with Birzeit
On September 29, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) sent a letter to Harvard University expressing alarm about the institution’s failure to publicly address its former partnership with Birzeit University. The lawmakers described Birzeit as “an institution whose student body overwhelmingly supports Hamas” and one that “explicitly endorses a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.”
Harvard had earlier announced in spring that it would not renew its cooperation agreement with Birzeit and would issue a final decision following an internal review, as reported by The Harvard Crimson.
According to promotional materials for the June fundraiser hosted by Palestine House of Freedom, titled “From Birzeit and Beyond: How academia shapes resistance and resilience,” all proceeds from the event were donated to Birzeit University.
### Omar’s History of Controversial Statements
Ilhan Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018, has faced significant criticism for making statements viewed as anti-American and antisemitic. Notably, she once remarked that “some people did something” regarding the 9/11 attacks, and also claimed that “Israel has hypnotized the world.” She later apologized for her comments about Israel.
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