End Colorado’s Complicity in Israel’s Crimes

I am a constituent writing with urgency and moral clarity. Colorado must immediately end all institutional, financial, and political ties with Israel’s government until it complies with international law. Our state should not be complicit in genocide. 1. Repeal Colorado’s pro-Israel investment law (HB 16-1284). This 2016 statute forces the state pension fund (PERA) to blacklist companies that boycott Israel—punishing free speech and compelling economic loyalty to a foreign government. It must be repealed. 2. Divest public funds from Israeli and complicit companies. PERA and all state funds must withdraw from corporations that supply weapons, surveillance, or construction for Israel’s military and settlements. Public money should never fund apartheid or war crimes. 3. Ban state contracts with firms aiding Israel’s occupation. Colorado should prohibit taxpayer contracts, grants, or procurement for any company that profits from Israel’s military operations or illegal settlement enterprise. 4. End trade missions and institutional partnerships with Israel. Terminate all Memoranda of Understanding, “innovation exchanges,” and programs run through the Colorado–Israel Chamber of Commerce. Academic and research partnerships must not whitewash genocide. 5. Mandate transparency. Require annual public reporting of all state investments, contracts, and institutional ties with Israel or entities implicated in human-rights abuses. Coloradans deserve to know where their money goes. 6. Acknowledge reality. Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza—the mass killing, starvation, and deliberate destruction of civilian life—meets the legal definition of genocide. Continuing business as usual makes Colorado complicit. Colorado has the power and obligation to act. Repeal HB 16-1284, divest from complicit corporations, ban contracts that fund atrocity, end trade partnerships, and establish full transparency. Our state must stand on the side of human rights, not war crimes. Please respond with your position on these actions and the steps you will take. The people of Colorado will remember which officials chose justice over complicity.