October 07, 2023 02:43 PM UTC

War In Israel, Political Football In Colorado

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• by: Colorado Pols

The shocking news the world woke up to today, as the Washington Post reports on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War of 1973:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Saturday that “we are at war” after Hamas militants from Gaza launched a surprise, multipronged attack across central and southern Israel, killing an estimated 200 Israelis and wounding many more.

The assault began early Saturday when Hamas launched thousands of rockets toward Israeli cities and sent militants into Israeli territory overland and by using paragliders and speedboats. Gunmen seized control of pockets of southern Israel, taking hostages and leaving bodies of civilians in the streets.

The Israeli air force launched airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 232 people were killed and 1,697 wounded in Gaza.

This is by all accounts the largest attack by Islamic militant group Hamas at least since the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in 2005. In addition to the symbolism of launching this attack on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, foreign policy analysts suggest that Hamas may be trying to disrupt ongoing peace negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia modeled on the Abraham Accords signed by Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

If you’re looking for deeper analysis of the situation, there are lots of authoritative foreign policy experts to turn to and we don’t pretend to be one of those. With respect to the politics surrounding these events across the globe in Colorado, we can report that today’s attack was instantly seized upon as partisan rage fuel by Republican usual suspects led by distinguished foreign policy scholar Rep. Lauren Boebert. You might not have heard, but geography is part of the GED exam:

Fortunately, Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, the University of Denver Law graduate and Bronze Star-decorated combat veteran, that is someone actually qualified to comment on foreign policy matters, was quick to debunk Boebert’s totally inaccurate but per usual rapidly-spreading misinformation:

This is false. And grotesque politics amidst a horrible situation. Facts:
1.Not ONE PENNY of that money has been transferred. All still in Doha.
2.These funds will NEVER go to Iran.
3.The money can ONLY be used for future purchase of humanitarian supplies.

No friend of Israel… https://t.co/DmL6tfrC1C

— Rep. Jason Crow (@RepJasonCrow) October 7, 2023

It’s another case where the GOP’s obsession with turning every headline into a stick to beat their political opponents with backfires once we take just a moment to verify if what they are saying is in fact true. In Rep. Boebert’s case, everyone should be aware by now including her allies that nothing she says can be taken at face value, whether the subject is foreign policy or vaping it up in a crowded theater.

And now we’ll turn discussion over to our readers with hope for a swift end to the violence.

The whole world should be able to agree on that.