Rebuttal to Senator John Hickenlooper’s Letter on S.Res.504

Your response to constituent concerns about S.Res.504 is not only deeply inadequate—it is insulting. This kind of vague, copy-paste letter may have been sufficient in a quieter time, but we are witnessing a genocide in real time. Over 58,000 Palestinians have been killed, thousands more are buried under rubble, and nearly the entire population of Gaza has been forcibly displaced. Your letter neither reflects the urgency of this crisis nor demonstrates the accountability we expect of an elected official. Let’s be clear: urging restraint has already failed for over 20 months. Israel has continued, unabated, to bomb refugee camps, hospitals, and food distribution centers—with U.S.-supplied weapons. Each time officials like you “call for restraint,” Israel escalates. Continuing to issue toothless statements while voting to send more bombs is not diplomacy—it is complicity. Your claim that S.Res.504 “gives the State Department very little time” is a dishonest mischaracterization. The resolution provides 30 days for the administration to determine whether U.S. weapons are being used in violation of U.S. and international law—a minimum standard of oversight when our weapons are contributing to the destruction of entire cities. Framing this as “rushed” is a transparent delay tactic. No serious human rights investigation takes 20 months to acknowledge war crimes that are broadcast live to the world. You also state that you “continue to push for restraint and precision” from Israel. That would be laughable if it weren’t so obscene. There is no “precision” in the killing of tens of thousands of civilians and the leveling of neighborhoods. Words like these infantilize the public and insult the intelligence of your constituents, who are paying close attention. We are not fooled by euphemisms or empty appeals to future peace while you authorize weapons shipments that are erasing an entire people. Worse still, your letter refers to the Biden administration, which has not been in office for over six months. This makes clear your response is not a serious engagement with the content of S.Res.504 or the concerns of your constituents—it’s a form letter. That’s not just offensive; it’s delegitimizing to your position as a senator. If you cannot even update your language to reflect the current administration or address the actual demands being made, then you are not representing the people of Colorado. You say you “value hearing directly from Coloradans.” If that’s true, start listening. We will not be made complicit in genocide through your inaction. Massive companies like Maersk are divesting from Israel under pressure from ordinary people. We will continue to organize, mobilize, and apply pressure until our government divests, sanctions, and ends all support—military, diplomatic and financial—for genocidal regimes, including Israel’s. This moment will define your political legacy. You still have time to decide what that will look like. The choice is yours.