Denver Jewish Leaders Warn Kiros Win Deepens Fear as Colorado Antisemitic Incidents Hit 167
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 1
Denver Jewish Leaders Warn Kiros Win Deepens Fear as Colorado Antisemitic Incidents Hit 167
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 1
Summary
Denver Jewish leaders say Melat Kiros’s June primary upset over 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette left many residents feeling unsafe, with Rabbi Menachem Lehrfield reporting a “dirty Jew” slur shouted at him a day after publishing an op-ed on those fears.
Kiros’s critics tie that anxiety to her rhetoric on Israel and antisemitism, citing her description of Oct. 7 as “inevitable” and her initial refusal to call Boulder’s 2025 firebombing antisemitic before later condemning it.
The Boulder attack killed 82-year-old Karen Diamond and injured a dozen others; Jewish Community Relations Council and ADL officials say minimizing such violence erodes trust and helps normalize hostility toward Jews.
ADL counted 167 antisemitic incidents in Colorado in 2025—the third-highest since tracking began in 1979—and says 2026 has brought more violent cases, including assaults on a child and a visibly Jewish woman.
The backlash has already spilled into politics: Jewish independent Shimon Blau entered the Nov. 3 race against Kiros, though the Democrat remains favored in a district Kamala Harris carried with 77% in 2024.