UPDATE Oct. 16: Colorado state Rep. Tim Hernández issued a video statement Oct. 13 explicitly denouncing Hamas’ terrorist attacks in Israel. “I condemn Hamas and their attack on innocent Israelis but it has resulted in the deaths and murders of Israeli folks, Palestinian folks, Arabs, Americans and so many others. People who are harmed and suffering deserve our respect, and I have to apologize for the way that I caused harm by not making that explicitly clear. I got here because of my choices and because I wasn’t engaged with impacted community members,” Hernandez said in a video posted on social media.
“My lack of condemnation when I was asked a question at the rally during a tense exchange left people with a lot of questions,” he said. “I understand now that my public actions and lack of clarity caused harm to our community.”
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The Democratic speaker and majority leader of the Colorado House issued a joint statement Tuesday saying they were “deeply disappointed” that Rep. Tim Hernandez (D-Denver) “chose not to explicitly condemn the violent Hamas terrorist attack on innocent Israelis.”
In an online video, Hernandez refused multiple times to condemn the murders and other violence by terrorists in Israel.
Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie of Dillan and Majority Leader Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge issued a joint statement Tuesday, stating, “We’ve had several conversations with Representative Hernandez over the last few days and are deeply disappointed that when there was doubt, he chose not to explicitly condemn the violent Hamas terrorist attacks on innocent Israelis. Serving as a state representative means bearing the weight of responsibility for how our actions and words impact others, and we are called upon to lead with compassion, sensitivity, and humility in the most painful of moments. The murder of nearly 1,000 innocent people so far is an atrocity that demands unequivocal condemnation. We should be denouncing, not promoting, hateful rhetoric on social media. We stand with the people of Israel and the Jewish community in Colorado as we continue to mourn the loss of life and reel from the shock of the still unfolding horrors of this violent terrorist attack on innocent Israelis.”
Even in a follow-up statement, Hernandez failed to condemn Hamas’ terrorism, but he stated, in part, “I condemn war for any loss at all. War threatens the dignity of life for citizens in all of Gaza, in all of Israel, and across the Earth, and I hope one day soon we may build a world free from war entirely.”
