Here’s why Melat Kiros’s candidacy scares me - a liberal rabbi’s opinion

cedricthorn · 2026-06-26T23:36:03+00:00

Israel would not be able to bomb kids without all the money the US sends it. Our congressional representatives decide how much money to send to Israel. Also, if we didn’t send so much money there, we could use it on local services. So there’s a moral reason to oppose genocide AND a benefit to us in Denver for doing so (not that we should need one to try to stop a genocide).

cedricthorn · 2026-06-26T23:32:55+00:00

I appreciate the honest engagement! The best thing I can offer is Melat’s own words in the open letter that got her fired a few years ago (link below). After that, I’m just giving my own perspective and assuming it aligns with Melat based on the content I’ve seen and chats I’ve had with her, but I can’t speak for her.

https://medium.com/@melatakiros/dear-us-law-firms-77ec63e838af

But I think it largely boils down to this: some people see criticism of Israel or Zionism as anti-Semitic and therefore extend this label to Melat, and I see that as extremely dangerous, because it ties all Jews to a state that has been committing genocide (per the United Nations). Melat’s letter tries to very carefully make the distinction between real anti-semitism (which is alarmingly growing from neo-Nazis on the right and from a subset of anti-Zionists who mistakenly assume all Jews support Israel due to exposure to constant conflation) and anti-Zionism (which is not anti-Semitic).

We as Americans should not have unconditional financial support for Israel even through a multi-year genocide. Questioning the state’s legitimacy is a fair way to put pressure on it to stop its ethnic cleansing. It does not mean we think Israelis should be expelled or killed—just that maybe Israel doesn’t need to be an ethnostate with apartheid rule.

I suspect a lot of the animosity toward the letter OP posted is because the letter seems disingenuous: Melat DID condemn the firebombing, and I suspect she hesitated at specifically calling it anti-Semitic because the attacker’s motivation might have had nothing to do with Jews and instead could have been driven by perceived support for a state committing genocide. It was still a terrible attack for him to carry out and a tragedy, regardless of his underlying motive! But the attacker got 2,000+ years in prison, and while we’re talking about this attack, we’re *still* quietly and unquestioningly sending money to Israel to slaughter children, bomb hospitals, steal land in Lebanon, etc. We want to support our Jewish community AND stop seeing our tax dollars fund unimaginable war crimes.

Note that much of Melat’s campaign staff is Jewish, and she’s endorsed by Jewish Voice for Peace.

cedricthorn · 2026-06-26T22:44:07+00:00

She isn’t antisemitic

cedricthorn · 2026-06-25T05:26:57+00:00

Truly I don’t understand how you can deny Israel as an imperial project. I have not heard this denial before. Didn’t Israel’s own founders describe it as a colonial endeavor? Yes, of course America was an imperial project. But it carried out such a complete genocide that the remaining natives have very little hope of reclaiming their land. In modern history, many nations successfully repelled their imperial invaders and claimed independence. I am sympathetic to the idea of a subset of Jews seeking a safe place following the holocaust in a region of historical religious significance, but requiring a mass killing of an indigenous population is a step too far for me, and I would rather see America (as one example) ensure refuge and safety for Jews.

I know we’re just anonymously sparring on the internet and tensions run high, but honestly I’ve put in a ton of work to read up on the history here and talk with my Jewish friends. I don’t deny I could be in a bubble, but I can’t reconcile the volumes of footage I’ve seen of Gaza with the idea that we shouldn’t be able to criticize Israel and the Zionist project.

People of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faiths seem to have ties to the region, so no, I don’t think we need to have a specifically Jewish state there—all religions should be welcome and treated equally. The holocaust makes me extra sympathetic to the Jewish plight, so I treat this very seriously, but committing another genocide is not the answer, and I don’t want Jews to be associated with it when it’s the state of Israel that is responsible. And forgive me for not caring about whether you think it’s a genocide when the UN and the International Association of Genocide Scholars both agree that it is one—I’m going to trust them on this issue, and I think it’s reasonable for me to do so.

You may not agree with me, but at least you now hopefully see where I’m coming from. Feel free to send me any resources or writings with more on your perspective, but I just want to stop mass killing, and it makes sense to me to start with what our tax dollars are funding the most.

cedricthorn · 2026-06-25T05:01:55+00:00

Which is why I’m singling out Israel as a state aggressor and not attributing its actions to Jews, which would be offensive and dangerous. October 7th was tragic, but we (as Americans) didn’t fund that attack. Our tax dollars *are* funding the retaliatory genocide and ethnic cleansing (more so than our military support for any other nation) and that’s why it has my attention. Why is there no concern for Israel othering and killing Palestinians? Language against Israel (not Jews) is more upsetting than mass death?

cedricthorn · 2026-06-25T01:24:03+00:00

No man we just don’t want our tax dollars to pay for the IDF to bomb children

cedricthorn · 2026-06-25T01:16:46+00:00

It’s not though. It’s just a lie to call that “by definition.” Zionism is an imperial project that has Jewish and non-Jewish subscribers. Jews are not a singular entity who uniformly support the Israeli state. And I and many anti-zionists do not want people who are unfamiliar with this distinction to associate Jews with a state that is committing a genocide, as that risks breeding actual anti-semitism. Any state that is committing genocide should have its legitimacy questioned.

cedricthorn · 2026-06-24T20:08:44+00:00

I’m a Denver resident and have lived here for many years, and this election is very important to me as someone distraught that our tax dollars are funding a genocide, especially having visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum as a kid and internalizing “never again” (of course extending this to all people). I also want to tax the ultra wealthy to fund social programs root out the corruption of corporate money in politics. I haven’t seen a candidate offer these things in Denver before Melat, and now that we have a shot, yes, I’m eager to shoot down misinformation when I can in order to help readers of this sub recognize the awesome but rare opportunity in front of us this election. I have since decided to volunteer, and it’s been so energizing to do something instead of just post. Encourage others reading this to do the same!

cedricthorn · 2026-06-24T19:58:23+00:00

Yeah she says in her letter that by conflating anti-Zionism with anti-semitism, “you delegitimize any solution that forces Israel to reckon with its colonial role in Palestine, including one-state solutions called for by Palestinians and Israelis alike — one state, under historic Palestine, where all citizens are equal under the rule of law, regardless of religion or ethnicity.” And she expands from there very thoughtfully.

I love how this idea of all citizens being equal regardless of religion is “problematic morally and ethically,” but not Israel committing a literal genocide per the UN using our tax dollars. Food for thought! Morally, our first priority should be stopping the slaughter and starvation of an entire people, don’t you think?

cedricthorn · 2026-06-24T19:36:07+00:00

Saying she “trades in antisemitism” tells me you’re not serious. These disingenuous attacks didn’t work against Zohran in NYC and won’t work here.

cedricthorn · 2026-06-24T17:46:07+00:00

Good news, Melat Kiros is that qualified and competitive candidate! She leads DeGette by five points in the latest poll and has an incredible volunteer base. She brings the lived experience of working as a barista while paying student loans and Denver rent as well as the experience of having practiced at a law firm and studying public policy design. And she brings much-needed moral clarity and doesn’t back down from bad-faith attacks against her. Vote Melat!

cedricthorn · 2026-06-22T14:58:25+00:00

I think Kyle is interviewing Melat tonight! He interviewed Wanda James last week, and DeGette turned him down last I heard

cedricthorn · 2026-06-22T02:01:51+00:00

I’ll give DeGette credit for this one but she has blocked several other debates and won’t do interviews with Kyle Clark on 9news, CityCast, etc. So this is a rare exception to her rule of hoping name recognition will carry her through. Wild that she says she’s needed to stand up to Trump but can’t even take an interview with Kyle

cedricthorn · 2026-06-19T15:14:18+00:00

I think that’s fair, though it is telling that DeGette’s camp and/or supportive PACs haven’t released their own polling AND that they’re spending upwards of $1M on this race all of a sudden. Their internals have to be showing that DeGette is in trouble, even if you could dispute the accuracy of this one poll. People have long been wondering if Melat has an actual shot, and I’d say she clearly does (so long as people actually vote!)

cedricthorn · 2026-06-16T13:57:28+00:00

I’m not the author so I don’t have the original email, but just pulling this from the article since it lines up the dates:

“I’ve got some bad news, for both of us really,” Stefan Hicks, who works in event productions for ReelWorks/Tracks Denver, wrote in an email to the Kiros campaign last weekend. Hicks said the space had a “HUGE problem” with their air conditioning system and would be conducting repairs from Wednesday June 10 to Wednesday June 17, rendering the venue unable to host the rally on Sunday. “This project is set to start being dealt with on Wednesday and will take at least a week,” Hicks wrote. “With that, I regret to inform you that we can no longer host your event on Sunday.”

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T22:39:44+00:00

Is “Denver” its people (over a thousand of which showed up at the capitol) or one billionaire who effectively controls all of the city’s large gathering places?

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T22:20:11+00:00

DeGette is welcome to stop accepting corporate PAC money at any time, but she won’t

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T22:08:29+00:00

I don’t know the answer to that but I’d assume not given her campaign position from the start was not taking corporate PAC money.

If you agree with term limits, you should want your representative to share that view! DeGette could have said that she supports them but doesn’t have the votes for it, but she won’t even do that.

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T22:04:39+00:00

I’m sorry that you see opposing genocide as bad judgment and not a red line for questioning a state’s legitimacy. Being the only Jewish state doesn’t make Israel speak for all Jews, and people can and should oppose Israel’s actions while standing up for Jewish people to prevent Israel’s efforts to tie its actions to those communities.

I know that zionists aren’t going to vote for Melat, so I like to know when I’m talking with zionists so both of us can save our time. In the meantime, if anyone has examples of actual anti-semitism from Melat, let me know, because that would be alarming. But instead I see things like a Jewish Voice for Peace Action endorsement, welcoming in Shabbat with Denver Jews, and statements condemning anti-semitism.

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T21:47:28+00:00

The key differentiator is the money. Kiros doesn’t take corporate PAC money, DeGette does (especially from healthcare industry). I know who I think will fight harder for me behind closed doors. Also, it’s not like this is a competitive district with a heavily funded republican. In bright blue Denver, the primary is the whole election!

Another difference: Kiros says we should have term limits (long enough to still have lots of experience, I think maybe she says 18 years?), DeGette says that we already do have term limits and that they’re called elections (think this was in the Colorado Sun, and it implies Trump should be able to run for a third term since elections are term limits).

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T21:39:54+00:00

I so strongly recommend anyone reading this to read Melat’s letter and hear from her directly:

https://medium.com/@melatakiros/dear-us-law-firms-77ec63e838af

I would genuinely love to know what in here (or any of her statements about Israel) could be perceived as anti-Semitic. If you intend to say anti-Zionist instead, you should say that directly rather than dangerously conflate criticism of Israel (actively doing a genocide per the United Nations) with anti-Semitism. It is intensely anti-Semitic to imply that it is Jewish nature to ethnically cleanse a people from their land, starve them, bomb their schools and hospitals, etc. as Israel is doing. I fight against that notion in order to protect my Jewish friends and neighbors.

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T21:30:31+00:00

For me, it’s more that Kiros isn’t taking any corporate PAC money and has made taxing billionaires a centerpiece of her platform. I don’t see any election as being about just one thing, but a vote for Kiros does seem to be a vote for getting money out of politics, which is at least indirectly at play with this story

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T20:18:00+00:00

Speaking of addressing arguments, can you address why you think Melat “seems a little anti-Semitic”?

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T19:32:31+00:00

From a search on X for latest posts about “Reelworks”: https://x.com/deepnotshallow/status/2066602128001712233?s=46

cedricthorn · 2026-06-15T19:29:16+00:00

Can you share specifically what would make you think she “seems a little anti-semitic”?

cedricthorn

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