The wake of conflict leaves permanent loss and devastation. I condemn the violent and hateful actions of all sides and pray for a sense of shared humanity to end the bloodshed. Being Palestinian American informs a lot of my perspective, and is part of why I root my policy, and decades of work, in human rights, as an academic and as a legislator.

Every morning I wake up to a slew of text messages sending love and support. My immediate reaction is to check the news. How could it get worse? Has the ground invasion begun? Will I hear, again, that a relative’s home was destroyed? But regardless of the news, my response has been the same, “please, publicly tell people that you support Palestinians.”

I always make this ask because we cannot continue to conflate the millions of Palestinian people with Hamas. And while no group of people is a monolith, the Palestinian voice is so critical at this junction as it speaks to 75 years of history that is being dangerously distilled down.

Unfortunately, that fragmented information speaks to our short, collective memory, that many have forgotten about the post-9/11 hate wave that was pointed at our communities. and the real harm resulting from it.

But it has to be said. It is unacceptable to refer to the condemnation of the killing and harm of innocent Israeli civilians as “Islamophobic or anti-Arab.” We also cannot equate the call for Palestinians to live in freedom and dignity as “anti-semitic.”

In Colorado, Muslims, Arabs, and Palestinian children are facing racist and bigoted attacks in schools because of their identity, being called “twin towers,” while teachers look the other way. Our businesses and mosques are being threatened, and homes are being shot at. This hate and bigotry has caused the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in an anti- Muslim attack in Chicago.

Well before the most recent hostilities, the military oppression, along with the indiscriminate attacks against Palestinians amounted to collective punishment, a war crime, in the opinion of U.N. experts. The U.N. has called on the Israeli government to immediately stop indiscriminate military attacks.

We heard it loud and clear when the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, declared that they are “fighting human animals,” as he was announcing a total siege on Gaza to cut civilians off from electricity, food, water, and fuel.

Former head of Israeli Mossad Intelligence, Tamir Pardo, said “Israel is enforcing an apartheid system in the West Bank.” And the reality on the ground is that Palestinian Christians and Muslims lack access to the ballot, health care, and are cut off from seeing family and the ability to travel freely.

Dispossessed, confined, forcibly separated, and subjugated all by virtue of their identity as Palestinians. Losing their land and homes with no just cause, forced to travel through checkpoints and on segregated roads, and all are dictated by a government that is not their own. Worse are the living conditions in Gaza, again described by Pardo, as an “open-air prison,” an opinion shared by the World Health Organization. But how much more hellish is it going to become?

In Gaza, that “hell” manifests as being one of the most densely populated areas on earth, with children making up 47% of Gaza’s population of 2 million, with over 800,000 having never known life without the blockade. More than 1 million people live in poverty, and nearly 80% of the youth are unemployed, and 90% are without access to clean drinking water.

Even with knowledge of these realities, it is disappointing to hear that, instead of calling for calm and peace, our own State Department has circulated a memo discouraging diplomats from publicly using phrases like “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed,” and “restoring calm.”

The U.S. should focus on minimizing the loss of lives through diplomatic channels, with the sole focus of enacting everlasting peace, justice, and equality for all. Human rights defenders in Congress introduced a resolution urging President Joe Biden to work towards a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

My ask of Coloradans: question assumptions, acknowledge what brought us here, and examine the facts and the history before making statements or taking action. And if we feel the urge to speak up when one group suffers, ask why aren’t we feeling that urge when others suffer too. Why does such a moral inconsistency exist and how are we challenging it? Iman Jodeh represents Colorado House District 41. She is a Democrat from Aurora.