I voted for Shontel Lewis.

Rep. Lewis has since sponsored an Israel-Gaza ceasefire proclamation which was voted down by Denver City Council 8-to-4. Shortly after the Oct. 7 massacre, I wrote to Rep. Lewis to ask about her response. Her statement starts: “My heart is heavy this week watching reports of inexcusable, inhuman brutality in Israel and Palestine.”

It wasn’t until Oct. 28 when Israel began its retaliatory operation in Gaza.

Her statement continues: “We’ve all been inundated with videos of extremists perpetrating the worst kinds of violence, free from the context and nuance of the generations-old struggle in the Middle East.”

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Maybe Rep. Lewis thought the videos of unspeakable brutality perpetrated by extremists, commonly called terrorists, should have been captioned like this:

“Holocaust survivors known as colonialist settlers were executed at a bus stop for (allegedly) occupying land. A Jewish baby was taken hostage to exchange for convicted murderers in Israeli prisons.”

It goes on: “I unequivocally condemn militarized action in all forms against civilians…”

Rep. Lewis refers to the mass murder of children, elderly and whole families on Oct. 7 as “militarized action.” This choice of words is deeply offensive. The phrase “militarized action” belies an inadequate understanding at best. It reeks of anti-Zionism.

I gave her one more chance: Does Rep. Lewis believe Israel has a right to defend itself? To date, there’s been no response.

I voted for Shontel Lewis, but I wish I hadn’t.

Melisa Siegel

Parker (formerly of Denver)

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