Open letter to lawmakers: Condemn and censure Rep. Elisabeth Epps
(Editor’s note: The following letter calling for the censure of Rep. Elisabeth Epps first appeared in the Intermountain Jewish News.)
In the Colorado State Legislature on Nov. 19, 2023, Rep. Elisabeth Epps admonished her colleagues and criticized Israel for “ethnic cleansing.” Further, as the Intermountain Jewish News reported on June 10, 2022, Rep. Epps has a long and troubling history of anti-Semitic tropes, including her 2020 Twitter post, “From the River to the Sea,” which is a call for the annihilation of the State of Israel.
When Elisabeth Epps ran for state representative last year, she said she was not an anti-Semite. Now, it is evident that her protestations ring hollow. Her actions illustrate that she is less-than-credible and her statements, such as “From the River to Sea,” are anti-Semitic. Her strident public rants evidence her anti-Israel animus. Her actions in interrupting a fellow legislator, who is Jewish, during debate on a tax bill for an anti-Israel rant are deplorable and unfitting for an elected state representative from District 6 in Colorado!
Hamas’s unhinged barbarism beheaded and burned babies, raped women, and murdered more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians. Even now, not all of their remains have been identified. Additionally, some 240 people, including U.S. citizens, were kidnapped. Rep. Epps has not publicly condemned these actions. The flood of lies from Hamas and its supporters are unacceptable. It is a responsibility for all elected officials to explicitly oppose these violent terrorist actions — not to sow discord and attempt to justify the unjustifiable.
We call upon the House leadership, Governor Polis, and Attorney General Weiser to join this call for censure of Rep. Epps and also to issue a statement supporting Israel and condemning Hamas, a U.S.- recognized terrorist organization, and its supporters. She has the right to free speech. So do we. We call for her censure.