Stephanie Clark
Dawn Reinfeld
Last Tuesday was a day of big change in Colorado Democratic politics.
Since October 7, 2023, progressive Jews have been excluded by the very party we built. From the moment Israel was attacked by Hamas, even before the war began, we have been marginalized, ostracized and demonized by the far left of the Democratic Party. People we have worked with for a decade stood on the west steps of the state capitol chanting anti-Semitic slogans like “From the River to the Sea” and “Make the Intifada Global.” One side calling for the eradication of the Jewish state, the other calling for the murder of Jews around the world. Last Tuesday night, we showed up and showed that Colorado Democratic Jews are here to take back our party.
We founded Stop Anti-Semitism Colorado as a force to counter the rise of anti-Semitism in Colorado’s political discourse, which has long been commonplace on the far right but primarily comes from the far left. Our victory in last week’s Democratic primary was a powerful rebuke to the far left’s attempts to hijack Colorado’s governing party and their venom and demonization that is dividing the Democratic Party. In every election we have worked in, our candidates have won by substantial margins.
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Incumbent Democrats Rep. Elizabeth Epps and Rep. Tim Hernandez lost their primaries by wide margins, as did all but one candidate backed by Denver’s Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Colorado voters made it clear that you can’t get away with celebrating the day of a terrorist attack. You can’t get away with hijacking civic business to spread anti-Semitic hatred. You can’t disrupt a city council meeting over a ceasefire resolution or protest with Hamas supporters on a college campus and expect silence from the Jewish community. It was a powerful rebuke to the vocal people who isolate and dehumanize Jews with their dualistic thinking and hateful rhetoric. No one believes their hatred cloaked in self-proclaimed “progressive values.” There’s nothing progressive about alienating any community.
Primaries usually favor the activist wing of the party, but this result shows that we have flipped that traditional script. Reps. Epps and Hernandez not only alienated mainstream voters, they motivated the Jewish community to come out to the polls and make their voices heard. They can blame corporate interests and dark money all they want, but at the end of the day, voters didn’t believe in what they were selling. They have only themselves to blame. They cannot claim to care about justice and human dignity while attacking Jews who have always fought side by side with every progressive social movement and every other marginalized group for equality. We will not let the extreme wing of our party silence us, make us unsafe, or shape our future.
Yet despite the clear messaging in the vote, this week Colorado Democrats advanced a highly problematic ceasefire resolution that failed to call for the unequivocal release of American and Israeli hostages held in Gaza for more than eight months. This insensitive attempt to appease extremists was met with thousands of emails from Jewish Democratic voters and allies, and ultimately led to the resolution being voted down in its entirety, with 55% of the State Central Committee voting against it. Just as the Jewish community rallied to defeat a far-left candidate fueling anti-Semitic rhetoric in last week’s primary, we have once again organized to defeat this ill-conceived and ill-balanced resolution.
Democrats were outraged when the KKK, Proud Boys, and other far-right extremist hate groups took to the streets with torches and swastikas after Charlottesville. Anti-Semitism has risen under Donald Trump. But when Democrats and the “left” alike have acted anti-Semitic, we have felt a deafening silence from within the party. If Democrats allow the far left to spread this equally destructive narrative and continue to focus disproportionately on delegitimizing the state of Israel and demonizing Jews for a war waged on the other side of the world, they will lose. And they will be on the wrong side of history.
We will continue to fight with all our might against those who seek power at the expense of our safety. We will not stand idly by while elected officials and candidates for office spread anti-Semitism or try to silence us. Just as we listen to other marginalized communities when they speak from their own experiences, it is time to stop ignoring the Jewish community by calling the words of far-left anti-Israel activists dehumanizing and dangerous.
This election wasn’t just about winning or losing, it was about sending a clear message: Colorado Democrats will not stand for the divisive and isolating tactics of the far left. We will reclaim our place in the party and reaffirm that our voices and contributions matter. This is our party, too. We will not be hijacked by those who seek to marginalize us.
Going forward, we remain committed to fostering inclusive and respectful dialogue within the Democratic Party. We will work to build connections and deepen understanding of our history, the systematic oppression of Jewish people, and the existential threats to our security. In so doing, we can ensure that our party remains a place where all voices are heard and respected. Last Tuesday was just the beginning.
Stephanie Clark and Dawn Reinfeld are two of the co-founders of Stop Anti-Semitism Colorado, which formed in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks to address the gross increase in anti-Semitism in our political discourse.
