Hundreds of Coloradans call for lawmakers to support cease-fire in Israel and Gaza: "Human rights for Palestinians is not controversial"
Coloradans in solidarity with Palestinians held another event on the steps of the State Capitol again Saturday.
Since the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, we've seen several groups protesting the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the rising death toll among civilians.
The crowd of hundreds gathered in downtown Denver to say Palestinians are people too and to call for a cease-fire.
RELATED: Jewish Coloradan protesters ask Rep. Diana Degette to support Israel-Palestinian cease-fire bill
Kim Lysobey would much rather be playing tennis, but she says her love for humanity had her in front of the Capitol Saturday afternoon.
"These people have been persecuted, their lands have been bulldozed and their farms have been taken away," she said.
"I have a conviction that most people have goodness in their hearts and if they saw what has been happening to the Palestinian people, they would feel as strongly as I do," she said.
Lysobey has been studying the Israeli-Hamas conflict for 50 years and says the way Palestinians have been treated since the 1948 UN resolution that created the state of Israel from Palestinian territory has been wrong.
"Thousands of people have been killed that are Palestinian and they have a right to live just like all of us," she said. "We need to have a cease-fire immediately."
Among the dead are a large number of children and elderly people. Over 1,400 Israelis and over 4,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to health officials in Israel and Gaza.
Maria Ahmad just got back from Jerusalem and says in 75 years, not much has changed.
"Innocent children, fathers, mothers, sons are ending up killed in the name of, 'oh we're protecting ourselves,'" she said. "What about the Palestinians?"
They joined hundreds of marchers demanding Colorado lawmakers sign a cease-fire to stop the violence in the Near East. They say for far too long, the United States has ignored Palestinians' cries for help.
"Our tax dollars are being used to commit a genocide," said Ahmad.
They hope that this time, finally, they will be heard and lives will be saved.
"They are desperate people and they need our help," said Lysobey. "They need us to stop financing this incredible injustice of our generation."
Among the speakers here was State Rep. Iman Jodeh the first and only Palestinian-American lawmaker in Colorado. She says she's tired of people equating Palestinians with Hamas.
"Here is the bottom line: human rights for Palestinians is not controversial," she said. "Every single one of us is here because we believe in human rights for all. There's a reason we have signs in Gaza that say 'from Ferguson to Gaza.' We are all alike. We have a shared kinship and if you care about the people and freedoms of our Black community, then you should care about the rights of Palestinians everywhere."
