Tensions rose at an Aurora City Council session on Monday, when some of the city’s leaders sought to mention Palestine in a resolution expressing support for Israel following the attack by Hamas and retaliatory strikes that killed thousands of people.    

Several councilmembers sought amendments to the resolution proposed by Councilmember Francoise Bergan, igniting a heated discussion between those who sought to keep the resolution about Israel and a few who wanted to add Palestine to it.

In a way, the move by some of Aurora’s councilmembers to include Palestine reflects efforts by Colorado’s progressive policymakers to condemn Hamas but also either assign some of the blame to Israel or note that both Palestinians and Israelis have been casualties of the conflict.   

As proposed, the resolution says Aurora:

• Explicitly condemns the unprovoked, violent terrorist attacks by Hamas on innocent Israeli victims

• Expresses its support for the people of Israel in their pursuit of peace, security, and prosperity.

• Disavows groups that advocate and organize in support of antisemitism and violence against the Jewish people.

• Mourns the loss of life and reels from the shock of this still unfolding horrors of torture, imprisonment, and murder.

• Acknowledges the historical and cultural significance of Israel and its importance to the global community.

• Encourages dialogue, understanding, and cooperation between the city and organizations representing the Israeli community.

Some councilmembers wanted the resolution to say the city supports both Israel and Palestine in their pursuit for peace, and that the word “war crimes” should be added. 

During Monday’s study session, Bergan said the resolution, which is scheduled for a vote at the regular city council meeting on Oct. 23, aligns with President Joe Biden’s support for Israel.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians. The group, which the U.S. lists as a terrorist organization, also took some 200 people captive and brought them into Gaza. Hamas militants in Gaza have launched rockets every day since, aiming at cities across Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 2,778 people and wounded 9,700, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Nearly two-thirds of those killed were children, a ministry official said. Another 1,200 people across Gaza are believed to be buried under the rubble, alive or dead, health authorities said.

Among the councilmembers seeking amendments to the resolution was Alison Coombs, who said she supports a statement condemning the attacks by Hamas and supporting the people of Israel, but that she also wants to add “war crimes” to the resolution’s final clause, which “condemns acts of violence, terrorism, and discrimination against any individual or community, regardless of their background or beliefs, and stands firmly against any form of prejudice or hatred.”

“Both Israel and Hamas are under investigation by the U.N. at this time for war crimes in this conflict,” Coombs argued. 

Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky said she is not amenable to that “at all,” adding that “even the president of the United States has conceded that (Israel) has a right to defend themselves.”

“Hamas has violated all laws of war, what they’ve done is atrocious,” Jurinsky said. “If that would have happened to the United States, I don’t think we would say that we’re committing war crimes by defending ourselves and trying to take out a terrorist organization that is not only a threat to Israel, but to America, as well.”

Noting that Jurinsky mentioned Biden’s statement, Coombs countered the president also called on Israel to “uphold the laws of war,” as it pummels Gaza, a precursor to what many believe is an ground invasion.

Biden earlier said Israel has a right to respond to Hamas’ attacks but that it must “operate by the rules of war.”  

Councilmembers Dustin Zvonek, Angela Lawson, Curtis Gardner, Steve Sundberg and Mayor Mike Coffman joined Bergan and Jurinsky in rejecting Coomb’s proposed changes.  

Councilmember Ruben Medina also tried, unsuccessfully, another amendment to say Aurora expresses “its support for the people of Israel and Palestine in their pursuit of peace, security and prosperity.”

Opposing the change, Jurinsky said innocent casualties in Palestine, especially of children, are “very sad” but that it is “no secret” that the people of Palestine elected Hamas to govern them. 

“If you read Hamas’ charter, it is about complete genocide of the Jewish state, of the Jewish people, and it is the Palestinians themselves who elected Hamas to govern them,” Jurinsky said. “This moment is about Israel … I am not agreeable to amending any of this.”

The same councilmembers who shot down Coombs’ amendment also rejected Medina’s amendment.

Meanwhile, Councilmember Juan Marcano sought an amendment to say the city “disavows groups that advocate and organize in support of antisemitism, Islamophobia and violence against the Jewish or Palestinian people.”

It is not Islamophobia for a country to defend its people, Jurinsky responded, saying Hamas’ attack wasn’t an act of war but, rather, an act of terrorism against the Jewish people.

“There’s no Islamophobia here and you guys can keep going around. I’m sure Crystal Murillo’s next, with some sort of amendment and you guys can play this game all you want,” Jurinsky said. 

Directly addressing Coombs, Jurinsky raised her voice, saying, “Jewish babies were beheaded … Alison Coombs think about that. Think about your son being beheaded.”

In response, Coombs said a child was stabbed to death as a result of Islamophobia “that resulted from some of the discourse around this issue.”

Marcano’s amendment, too, failed to pass.

Finally, Murillo proposed to add “and Palestine” to the resolution, citing Aurora’s Palestinian community members.

“I also think it’s really important to uplift the changes that we are making and the changes that we aren’t making,” Murillo said. “I think we all have very much agreed to the first section that we condemn the unprovoked attacks on the innocent Israeli victims.”

Murillo’s amendment also failed.      

Both Marcano and Coombs earlier dissociated themselves from the Denver Democratic Socialists of America, which on Saturday said it “unequivocally stands” with Palestine in its “fight for liberation from the apartheid regime of Israel.” The group blamed Israel for the conflict, saying “border walls, military checkpoints and crippling sanctions … and routine bombings are the material conditions that Palestinians have been forced to live under for over 75 years.”

The group, which has made significant political inroads into Colorado’s political landscape over the last several years, also said “bloodshed is a universal tragedy.”

“But under apartheid and occupation, some lives are deemed more precious than others. The negative blowback of apartheid should come as no shock; people who are oppressed will perpetually seek ways to free themselves from that oppression,” the group said. “The murder of Palestinians has been a systemically invisibilized occurrence for decades. When Palestinians quietly suffer the daily violence inflicted on them, the West calls that ‘peace.'”

Coombs said Denver Democratic Socialists of America’s stance led her to cancel her membership in the group. 

“It should not be difficult to condemn, without qualification, the killing of civilians and children,” Coombs said on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter. “There should be no ‘But’ after ‘bloodshed is a universal tragedy.'”

Marcano said, he too, canceled his membership in the socialist group. 

“Statements like those released by DSA chapters, including Denver DSA, flirt with or actively attempt to condone the war crimes committed by Hamas. Crimes against humanity should always be universally condemned, regardless of who commits them,” he said.

The local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League on Monday also sharply criticized a Denver-based political group that counts several Colorado legislators as members, saying the latter’s statement on the Israel-Hamas war perpetuates “several false and dangerous allegations about Israel.”

The Democratic Socialists of America did not immediately return a request for comment.  

The Associated Press contributed to this article.