"Four of our Republican colleagues replaced the American flag with the Israeli flag," Hernández points out to Westword, sharing a photo of desks inside the Statehouse.
He says he hopes that people covering and criticizing his show of support "give the same energy to folks on the other side of the aisle who have more Israeli flags than I have Palestinian ones that are bigger and flown higher than the U.S. flag," adding that his work as a state rep "to help families and students" should be outshining the hate he's receiving.
"Honored that I am a co-sponsor on 3 anti-poverty policies, including: $30 million of Rental Assistance; Summer EBT for 300,000 CO students; Increased Earned Income Tax Credit (50%)," Hernández tweeted on Saturday, November 18, with a picture of him sitting at his desk.
Senator Dafna Michaelson Jenet, who was born in Tel Aviv and still has family there, finds Hernández's decision to replace the Stars and Stripes with a flag of Palestine "very upsetting," but says she sees the double standard in Hernández being bashed while GOP legislators who displayed Israel's flag were left alone.
"I think we're quick to call Tim out because he's made some missteps," Michaelson Jenet tells Westword, referencing Hernández's refusal to immediately condemn Hamas and the October 7 attacks on Israel, which led to a public apology from the new rep for causing "harm to the community."
"We might vehemently disagree with his decision to display the Palestinian flag on his desk, but if we're going to call him out but not call others out for doing the exact same thing, we're short-sighted," Michaelson Jenet says. "We are Americans representing Colorado, and as much as I identify with my Israeli citizenship — I am an Israeli citizen as well — when I am serving in the Colorado Legislature, I am an American serving Colorado...and when we put things on our desk, we are very explicitly sending a message. So they [lawmakers with flags] were sending a message. And if you're going to call Tim out for that message, then everybody else needs to own up to that message as well."
Any words on this @GovofCO @COAttnyGeneral @JenaGriswold ?
— George Brauchler (@GeorgeBrauchler) November 19, 2023
Proud to have @_timhernandez in your party and in our #coleg?
What’s next, prancing around celebrating Hamas after an attack on unarmed Israelis? https://t.co/P3mfUaHoZD
While Michaelson Jenet says that she supports Hernández's right to free speech, she does disagree with his decision to remove the American flag.A Colorado Democratic lawmaker who attended a rally in support of Palestine the day after they attacked Israel has now replaced his American flag with the Palestinian flag. pic.twitter.com/o2CwoaspKu
— Jeff Hunt (@jeffhunt) November 19, 2023
"Tim has absolutely every single right to put the Palestinian flag on his desk, and I do not deny that," she explains. "When I was in the House, I did have an Israeli flag on my desk. As a matter of fact, on Israeli Independence Day (April 25-26, 2023), I distributed flags to members of the House. Three people did anonymously return theirs to me, and I could probably figure out who they were. Every year that I've been in the House, except for recent years, I've been allowed to announce Israeli Independence Day from the well, just like everybody else does with announcements. I made an announcement every year, but in the past few years, I haven't been allowed to do that anymore."
Representative Iman Jodeh, who has a home in Palestine and family in Gaza, is Colorado's first and only Muslim state legislator, and she believes that there's a double standard for the Palestinian flag.
Jodeh says that while she feels people are biased when it comes to Palestine's flag, it's Hernández's involvement that has folks talking — but for all the wrong reasons.
"In my time at the legislature, I have seen various flags displayed in the chamber," she tells Westword. "We have members from Liberia, Haiti, Mexico, South Africa and, yes, from Palestine. The right to display each of our flags in allyship, or to honor our heritage, should not be dictated by any other. It's perplexing that the Palestinian flag is not extended that same courtesy."
"I think the question we have to be asking is, would anyone else be labeled 'anti-American' if they replaced the American flag in allyship, or to honor their heritage? I have to believe that the answer to that is no," Jodeh says. "But people are noticing the sea change in public opinion about Palestine, so maybe in an effort to distract from that, the Palestinian flag was not extended that same courtesy."
Despite supporting Hernández's right to free speech, Michaelson Jenet believes the teacher's actions are misguided.
"I can tell you, looking at Tim — someone who is not connected to this conflict in any way — I find it very upsetting that he would choose to display a Palestinian flag at this time," she says. "As someone who is connected to this crisis, I have not chosen to put an Israeli flag on my desk. Now, I'm in a different chamber, but I don't want to bring this conflict into the chamber. I don't think this is our conflict to work out in our chamber."
According to Michaelson Jenet, there hasn't been a single Colorado senator who has displayed Israeli or Palestinian flags on their desks at the Capitol. She says the fact that Hernández's constituents in House District 4 are largely Jewish complicates things even more.
Colorado you are insane if you let him get away with this. @TuckerCarlson @DonaldJTrumpJr @joerogan @RealCandaceO @charliekirk11 https://t.co/ALpZDmfknf
— Hailey Bucks (@HaileyBucks2) November 19, 2023
Colorado State House Representative @_timhernandez took down the American flag and replaced it the Palestinian one. Hernandez also became infamous for his support of the terrorists Hamas's genocide on Israel. #copolitics #StandWithIsrael pic.twitter.com/kad1RifKp2
— Joshua T. Hosler (@JoshuaHosler) November 19, 2023
"With Tim, in particular, he represents the original Jewish community of Denver — a strong and vibrant Jewish community who feels completely unrepresented and disrespected, quite frankly, by this choice [to display the flag]," the senator says.
Back in August, Hernández was elected by a committee of district Democrats to take over the vacant District 4 seat. He has been a vocal supporter of Palestine since the October 7 attacks and has used his social media platforms to show his support. His desk on Monday, November 20, still had the Palestinian flag in place of the U.S. flag, while the GOP lawmakers who had removed their American flags and replaced them with Israel's had put the U.S. flags back by the end of the session, displaying them alongside the Colorado state flag.
If Michaelson Jenet had her way, the Israel-Palestine situation would stay out of the Statehouse altogether.
"This has no place in the State Legislature," she says. "This is an international issue, it's a complex issue; this is an issue that's been going on for thousands of years, and I think people are choosing to make statements and comments who don't understand the complexity, who don't want to see the nuance, and quite frankly, hold Israel to a different standard than they hold everybody else."
Michaelson Jenet adds, "But let me be clear, I am horrified by the amount of death that is going on in Gaza, and I believe that if Israel does not root out Hamas, Israel will never see a day of peace."
If Michaelson Jenet had her way, the Israel-Palestine situation would stay out of the Statehouse altogether.
"This has no place in the State Legislature," she says. "This is an international issue, it's a complex issue; this is an issue that's been going on for thousands of years, and I think people are choosing to make statements and comments who don't understand the complexity, who don't want to see the nuance, and quite frankly, hold Israel to a different standard than they hold everybody else."
Michaelson Jenet adds, "But let me be clear, I am horrified by the amount of death that is going on in Gaza, and I believe that if Israel does not root out Hamas, Israel will never see a day of peace."
