(Denver, CO – June 2, 2026) – StandWithUs Colorado and the Israeli American Council strongly reject Colorado State Senator Julie Gonzales’s repeated false accusations against Israel during her campaign for the U.S. Senate. Additionally, we condemn her failure to challenge Hasan Piker during her appearance on his streaming platform. U.S. Senators can have a real impact on the lives of people across the Middle East, and on Coloradans who have ties to the region. We expect Gonzales and all other candidates to live up to that responsibility, instead of fueling more division and conflict.
State Senator Gonzales had an opportunity to hold Piker accountable for his extensive record of promoting antisemitism and violent extremism. This is an “influencer” who has declared that America deserved 9/11, named Hezbollah’s flag as his favorite flag, claimed Hamas is a thousand times better than Israel, and compared a Houthi terrorist to Anne Frank. When one of his guests framed the terrorist firebombing in Boulder as a “natural human reaction,” Piker nodded along and then responded by comparing this horrific attack on our local Jewish community to Jewish resistance against the Nazis during the Holocaust. Instead of challenging these hateful ideas in any way, Gonzales said nothing. That is a failure of leadership.
Gonzales’ comments on Piker’s show revealed dangerous biases and blind spots regarding the Middle East. She expressed support for a total arms embargo on Israel, without mentioning the threats posed by Iran’s regime, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist groups in the region. These violent extremists have spent decades promising to destroy Israel and have already murdered thousands of Israelis. An arms embargo would signal to these genocidal actors that Israel is vulnerable, emboldening them to escalate their attacks. The policies Gonzales supports are highly likely to trigger more horrific violence and suffering for Israelis, Palestinians, and millions of other people across the region.
Gonzales went on to suggest that ending aid to Israel would free up money for Medicare for All. This is deeply misleading and an insult to the intelligence of Colorado voters. Aid to Israel is roughly 0.06% of the federal budget, while Medicare for All is estimated to cost trillions of dollars. The U.S.-Israel alliance is not the reason why Americans do not have better healthcare or other “nice things.”
In fact, cutting ties with Israel would harm working people and Americans across the board. U.S.-Israel economic relations support an estimated 255,000 American jobs, $55 billion in annual bilateral trade, and nearly $32 billion per year in Israeli investment flowing into American communities for healthcare, water technology, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and more. In Colorado, there are companies and universities partnering with Israelis on these issues and many others. Leaving Israel to fight genocidal extremists alone would undermine vital cooperation that benefits all of us.
The big “genocide” lie against Israel appears to be fueling this bias, given that Gonzales has repeated it throughout her campaign. It is true that the October 7th War has been horrific for Israelis, and devastating for Palestinians caught between the IDF and Hamas in Gaza. However, the “genocide” accusation is categorically false, and the sources Gonzales cites have been debunked by scholars of genocide and international law. Israel’s objective is to destroy Hamas, not the Palestinian people. It has sent millions of messages warning Palestinian civilians to get out of harm’s way, helped deliver over 2 million tons of aid during the war, agreed to a peace plan that calls for Gaza to be rebuilt for the benefit of its people, and launched dozens of criminal investigations into the actions of its own soldiers. In contrast, Hamas seeks to destroy Israel as a whole – clear genocidal intent that was evident during the massacre on October 7, 2023. No army has had to fight a genocidal enemy under the conditions Israel confronted in Gaza, where Hamas ruthlessly militarized civilian areas and treated their own people as “necessary sacrifices.”
None of this makes the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza any less horrific, nor does it suggest that Israel is immune to criticism. All people of good will want the current ceasefire to lead to peace, and some may be repeating the big “genocide” lie because they think it will help. But a lie repeated many times is still a lie. Tragically for both Israelis and Palestinians, Hamas has used this lie to stay in power and keep fighting a forever war to destroy Israel. At the same time, extremists have used the lie to fuel hatred, discrimination, and violence targeting Jews around the world.
Enough is enough.
We appreciate that State Senator Gonzales said she does not believe in imposing solutions on Israelis and Palestinians from the outside, as well as her call for safety, security, and self-determination for both peoples. However, her other positions make that outcome less likely. You cannot protect civilians or stop wars, while emboldening genocidal extremists to launch more attacks against Israel. You cannot help Palestinians, while refusing to hold Hamas and its backers accountable. Similarly, you cannot truly represent all Coloradans, while enabling hate and undermining economic ties that benefit people in our state.
We call on State Senator Gonzales to address these concerns directly, and we welcome further engagement with her and all other political leaders who care about these issues.
