Last Sunday, over a thousand protestors gathered outside the Colorado state capitol building to rally for Palestine. Community leaders from the Colorado Palestine Coalition led protesters in call and responses in front of the capitol, chanting “free, free Palestine” and “we are all Palestinian, in our millions, in our billions.”
Toting Palestinian flags and signs with slogans like “Ceasefire Now” and “girl math vs. Zionist math,” the marchers set off from the capitol building at 1 p.m.. Their route cut through downtown Denver, taking the crowd past the Denver Art Museum to Speer Blvd. and back down Colfax St.
This is the fifth major pro-Palestine rally and the third major march in Denver since the Israeli military began its most recent bombardment of Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. As of Monday morning, Israeli forces have killed over 10,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 4,200 children, and the United Nations estimated that over 1.5 million Gazans have been internally displaced by Israeli airstrikes and the ongoing ground invasion. Hamas killed 1400 Israelis during on Oct. 7 and took 240 hostages, whom Hamas hopes to exchange for Palestinian political prisoners. Of the 4,499 Palestinians currently detained in Israeli prisons on security charges, 1,100 are being held without due process.
To Malaak Madhoun, a lifelong Denverite and member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, Sunday’s protest was an opportunity to call on her elected officials to show solidarity and compassion for Palestinians both in Gaza and Colorado. 14 of Madhoun’s family members who were living in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since Oct. 7.
Her message to Colorado officials was simple: “Condemn Israel.”
“You ask us to condemn Hamas over and over and over again as Palestinians, well now, my family has died as a result of [Israel’s actions],” Madhoun said. “Your inaction is causing so much harm, not only to Palestinians but to this Colorado community.”
Sunday’s protest came as American policymakers across the country face mounting pressure to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. President Joe Biden has so far called for a “humanitarian pause,” which would provide temporary relief to civilians in Gaza, but has not supported a ceasefire. Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed such a “pause” during a press conference in Amman, Jordan on Saturday, saying that a ceasefire would “leave Hamas in a place to regroup and repeat attacks.”
Ahmad Abu Safieh, who is from Gaza City and whose family lives in Gaza, acknowledged that the U.S. and Israel were long-time allies. “Can you just be more reasonable with your decision, with your 100% support?” he questioned of the Biden Administration. “There is another part to this story.” Abu Safieh, who has lost over 40 family members since Oct. 7, proposed that the U.S. provide humanitarian aid to Gazans in form of food, fuel, medicine and gas.
Colorado politicians have so far expressed strong support for the Israeli people and military. Gov. Jared Polis and Senator John Hickenlooper addressed the Israeli American Council rally supporting Israel on Oct. 15. Polis is also slated to speak at the global conference of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), an organization with close ties to the Israel Land Authority, at the end of November.
“I grew up Jewish,” said University of Denver (DU) professor Aaron Schneider, who emphasized that he spoke as an individual and not on behalf of the university. “I am aware that my people have been kicked out of every country they’ve lived in for 5,000 years, and I’m aware that now the Israeli state is kicking people out of their land…the killing is continuing, and it needs to stop.” Schneider, who teaches comparative politics at DU, wants to see Colorado congress members call for a ceasefire and an end of U.S. military aid to Israel.
Despite pressure from Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and If Not Now, two Jewish-led Palestine advocacy organizations, Rep. Diana DeGette has not co-sponsored Rep. Cori Bush’s Ceasefire Now resolution in the house. Like Biden, she has instead called for a “humanitarian pause.”
Polis, Hickenlooper and DeGette’s explicit support for Israel and advocacy for a “pause” over an end to hostilities were not lost on the protesters marching on Sunday.
“I’ve been anti-war since I became a conscientious objector in 1970,” said Bruce Morrison, who is a member of the Arvadans for Progressive Action’s Anti-war Action Team. “I want [Colorado policymakers] to call for a ceasefire–a permanent ceasefire–and an end to Israel’s aggressions against the Palestinians…the settlements, firing on protestors, the whole nine yards.”
Colorado has close diplomatic and economic ties with Israel. Hickenlooper and Israeli Ministry of Economy Head Scientist Avi Hasson signed a deal promoting cooperation in research and development in 2015, and former Colorado governor Bill Ritter signed two memorandums of understanding on research collaboration and general friendship between Israel and the Colorado in 2010.
As she turned onto Colfax St. alongside hundreds of protestors chanting for a ceasefire, Madhoun summed up the feelings of many at Sunday’s march.
“Don’t spend 70 million of our dollars on a genocide,” she said, referring to the share of annual U.S. military aid to Israel paid for by Colorado taxpayers.
All photos courtesy of Cassis Tingley.
Correction: The original piece quoted Aaron Schneider as saying he supported ending U.S. aid to Israel. Schneider said he supported an end to U.S. military aid to Israel.
