Hundreds rally in support of Palestinians at Colorado Capitol

Hundreds of people rallied and marched in Denver on Friday to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and harshly condemn the actions of Israel and the United States as violence in the region continued to escalate.

“We feel this anger in our bones,” said state Rep. Iman Jodeh, a Democrat from Aurora and a Palestinian-American who in 2020 became the first Muslim to be elected to the Colorado General Assembly. “We feel it when we are forcibly removed from our homes. We feel it when our own children are put in cages, when we live under apartheid and are forced to live behind walls.”

As of early Saturday, the death toll in Gaza had risen to at least 139, including 39 children, amid a series of air strikes and ground operations by Israel Defense Forces, while at least 11 Palestinians have been killed amid widespread protests in the West Bank, according to the Associated Press. Seven Israelis, including one child, have been killed by rockets fired by Hamas.

The escalating violence began earlier this month in Sheikh Jarrah, a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank where four Palestinian families face eviction after a years-long legal dispute with Jewish settlers aiming to seize their properties. Street clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-settler groups prompted a crackdown by Israeli police, and violent confrontations have been reported across Israel. Following a series of rocket attacks from Hamas militants, Israeli forces launched a major military operation targeting Gaza and have resisted calls for a ceasefire.

Activists are gathering outside the Colorado Capitol this afternoon for a rally and march in solidarity with Palestine, as the death toll mounts from air strikes and ground operations carried out by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/7kZ9Vx0UTR

— Chase Woodruff (@dcwoodruff) May 14, 2021

Demonstrators at Friday’s rally in Denver at the Colorado Capitol called for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine and for the U.S. government to place conditions on military aid to the Israeli government. Jodeh urged the crowd to contact their representatives in Congress and “demand justice for Palestinians.”

“We have the opportunity to say there is a sea change happening, there is a reckoning happening, regarding Palestine,” Jodeh said. “Our congressional delegation in D.C. — what side of history do you want to be on?”