Denver, CO – On November 9, Students for a Democratic Society Denver joined a national walkout for Palestine to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel. In addition to the walkout, organizers took to the streets and marched to the Denver Capitol building, where approximately 500 people were gathered for a rally called by the Colorado Palestine Coalition. The rally also included local high school students who had walked out in solidarity with Palestine. Students were met with applause from onlookers and joined in with chants and songs

Alex Bornstein, a member of the Denver chapter of the Jewish Voice for Peace, stated, “All elected officials continue to demonstrate their loyalty to Zionism, to imperialism, to colonialism, to capitalism, and apartheid. And we’re here today to shame them for that. We refuse to let our tax dollars be used to finance death and the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

Members of the coalition also took part in planning a sit-in at the capitol. In response to the event, the State Representatives decided to close the capitol early that day and protesters counted this as a successful shutdown of the offices that day. This is a victory for the pro-Palestine cause in Colorado, as it continues to expand as a movement.

On the march back, SDS added to their march and amassed over 150 participants to take the streets back to campus. Denver’s streets were filled with chants like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

Paul Nelson, a member of the Denver SDS and a member of the MSU student government, said, “Don’t get it twisted, this is a Palestinian liberation movement. Different political friends united under a common cause of national liberation.”

SDS will continue its campaign to demand that the university administration divest from companies that support and fund the genocide of Palestinians and calls for the end of the United States' involvement and funding of Israel.

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