Melat Kiros, Who Said October 7 and 9/11 Were “Inevitable Consequences,” Wins Primary

On November 7, 2023, one month after the tragic attacks of October 7, Melat Kiros posted a letter on Medium in which she wrote that she was confused at how calls for the elimination of Israel could be viewed as antisemitism. She wrote that “the Israeli government has weaponized antisemitism to defend its crimes against the Palestinian people and quell any resistance or critique against it.” The letter accused Israel of being an apartheid and colonizing state.

Kiros was fired from Sidley Austin LLP when she refused to take down the letter. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the 29-year-old moved to Denver as an infant and has now won a Democratic primary and likely a seat representing Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, defeating incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette, who has held the post since 1997. Kiros was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

In an interview on Next9 News in Colorado, she was asked about her statement that America should not even give Israel defensive weapons. “I believe that our selling of arms to Israel, defensive or offensive, gives them the cover to continue the genocide that’s taking place in Palestine and now the ethnic cleansing that’s taking place in Lebanon,” she said.

She previously described October 7 as “the inevitable consequence of apartheid.” In the interview, she claimed she was not saying there was justification for the attacks, which she called a “horrific tragedy.”

The interviewer did not challenge her claims of genocide or apartheid.

Kiros also said Israel “claims to be an ally.”

The interviewer asked if the 9/11 attacks were an inevitable response to America, based on its actions. Kiros said it was “inevitable in the sense that we destabilized a lot of the Middle East that forced people to believe that another act of violence was the only response…”

Asked about a letter from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Denver expressing that her words make Jews feel “increasingly unsafe and alienated,” she said, “Talking about the plight of one group does not mean that you’re talking against the plight of another group.”

She spoke of the Holy Land as having a “uniquely Muslim, uniquely Jewish, and uniquely Christian character.”

In June 2025, Mohamed Sabry Soliman firebombed a group of Jews in Boulder who had gathered to support the Israeli hostages. He threw Molotov cocktails and used a makeshift flamethrower against them, injuring several and killing 82-year-old Karen Diamond. Asked if the firebomber was antisemitic, she refused to say yes, saying she didn’t “know what was in the heart of the perpetrator.”

She said she was happy to see Palantir leave Denver, and suggested that she would like to see Lockheed Martin go as well because the company profits from war. She said she would vote to impeach President Trump for a Truth Social post threatening to destroy Iranian civilization.

Kiros campaigned with streamer Hasan Piker, who has said that America deserved 9/11, ultra-Orthodox Jews are inbreds, and anyone who ever had a positive feeling for Israel should not even be able to be a dog catcher. Appearing on Piker’s program, she said residents of Denver prefer socialism over capitalism. She also said it is not true that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.

Kiros has called for abolishing ICE.