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ruwa romman
Palestinian Rights Advocates Condemn Boulder Attack on Vigil for Hostages
"I don't want to see a single person saying this was warranted by the carnage in Gaza, that this was for Palestinians," said congressional candidate Kat Abuhazaleh. "I am Palestinian and I do not want senseless acts of terror committed in my name."
Jun 02, 2025
Two Palestinian American politicians were among those who condemned Sunday's attack on people attending a vigil in Boulder, Colorado for Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas—with Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman saying she was "appalled that anyone would do this in our name."
"Committing violence makes everyone less safe and makes peace impossible," said Romman. "Those who do must be held accountable. Praying for the victims and their loved ones."
Her comments came after a suspect identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly threw a "makeshift flamethrower" using two bottles into a crowd of people who were taking part in a "Run for Their Lives" event in honor of people who were kidnapped by Hamas in October 2023.
At least two people were flown to a burn unit in Denver for serious injuries; eight people in all were hurt in the attack.
Mark D. Michalek, a special agent in the FBI's Denver field office, said Soliman yelled, "Free Palestine" during the attack, echoing the suspect in the killing of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, D.C. last month. There was no indication that Soliman was linked to any particular group, Michalek said.
Soliman was taken into custody on Sunday.
Romman condemned the "cruelty and dehumanization" that appear to have led to attacks on individuals by suspects who have been motivated by anger at the Israeli government, which began bombarding Gaza in retaliation for Hamas' attack in 2023.
Israeli forces have killed more than 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, waging attacks on schools, shelters, and hospitals while claiming to target Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has also imposed a total blockade on Gaza since March—pushing the population towards famine—and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday opened fire on hundreds of Palestinians who were attempting to retrieve food at a distribution center set up by an Israel- and U.S.-backed company.
"Enough with the cruelty and dehumanization," said Romman. "Equating the Jewish community with the Israeli government fuels antisemitism further enabling extremism, conspiracy theories, and violence."
Critics have warned that the Israeli government has consistently conflated Judaism with Zionism and its actions in Gaza. In recent days officials have accused media outlets and critics of "blood libel"—a reference to ancient false allegations of ritual murder by Jewish people—for reporting on and condemning Israel's starvation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the IDF's attacks.
Yonah Lieberman, co-founder of the Jewish-led Palestinian rights group IfNotNow, said that while the "horrific" attack in Boulder was "a random act by an individual" and was "not representative of any movement," the killing of Palestinians in Gaza is the "result of official policy by the Israeli government."
Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive candidate for the U.S. House in Illinois' 9th District, warned that "senseless, antisemitic attacks do not help Palestinians, Jews, or Israelis."
"I don't want to see a single person saying this was warranted by the carnage in Gaza, that this was for Palestinians. I am Palestinian and I do not want senseless acts of terror committed in my name... Equating Jewish people with Israel's far-right government inevitably leads to antisemitism. It leads to innocent people getting hurt, more Jewish organizations being targeted, and Netanyahu preying on fear."
"My heart breaks every single day when I see what is happening in Gaza," she added. "I feel helpless. I know many of you do too. But when people enact violence in our name, it makes everyone less safe and it makes peace less likely."
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No Thanks to These 52 Dems, House Defeats Bill Enabling Trump Assault on Nonprofits
"Every single Democrat who voted for this is not taking the threat of Trump remotely seriously and should be disqualified from any leadership positions moving forward," said Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman.
Nov 13, 2024
Legislation that would have handed President-elect Donald Trump sweeping power to investigate and shutter news outlets, government watchdogs, humanitarian organizations, and other nonprofits was defeated in the House of Representatives on Tuesday after a coalition of progressive advocacy groups and lawmakers mobilized against it, warning of the bill's dire implications for the right to dissent.
But 52 Democratic lawmakers—including Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.)—apparently did not share the grave concerns expressed by the ACLU and other leading rights groups, opting to vote alongside 204 Republicans in favor of the bill.
One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, joined 144 Democrats in voting no.
The measure ultimately fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to approve legislation under the fast-track procedure used by the bill's supporters, but progressives wasted no time spotlighting the Democrats who supported the measure.
"If you're looking for a handy list of Democrats who have no fucking clue what is about to hit and need their spines stiffened ASAP, this is a good place to start,"
wrote Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of the advocacy group Indivisible.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who
vocally opposed the legislation, wrote that "these 52 Democrats voted to give Trump the power to shut down any nonprofit he wants."
"The NAACP, ACLU, Planned Parenthood, no organization would be safe," Tlaib added. "Shameful."
If passed, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act would grant the Treasury Department—soon to be under the control of a Trump nominee—the authority to unilaterally strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status by deeming them supporters of terrorism.
The bill could be revived in the next Congress, which is likely to be under full Republican control.
Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel with the ACLU, toldThe Intercept late Tuesday that "we will continue our sustained opposition."
It is already illegal under U.S. law to provide material backing for terrorism, and the executive branch has significant authority to target groups it considers terrorist-supporting.
"This isn't just an attack on our communities; it's a fundamental threat to free speech and democracy."
The ACLU
noted ahead of Tuesday's vote that while the bill contains "a 90-day 'cure' period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process."
"The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations," the group said. "This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as 'support,' making it virtually impossible to clear its name."
Opponents of the bill warned that Palestinian rights organizations would be uniquely imperiled if it passed.
"This bill dangerously weaponizes the Treasury against nonprofit organizations and houses of worship—Christian, Jewish, or Muslim—that dare to support Palestinian and Lebanese human rights or criticize Israel's genocidal actions," said Robert McCaw, director of government affairs at the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"Allowing such sweeping, unchecked power would set a chilling precedent, enabling the government to selectively target and suppress voices of dissent under the guise of national security," McCaw added. "This isn't just an attack on our communities; it's a fundamental threat to free speech and democracy."
Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman (D-97), a Palestinian American, echoed that sentiment following Tuesday's vote and condemned the legislation's 52 Democratic supporters.
"Every single Democrat who voted for this is not taking the threat of Trump remotely seriously and should be disqualified from any leadership positions moving forward," Romman wrote on social media. "This is no longer business as usual. To agree to give him this kind of power is beyond egregious."
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'Let Palestine Speak': Uncommitted Shares Speech the DNC Won't Allow
"We are waiting for a phone call from Vice President Harris and the DNC to allow a single Palestinian American speaker from the convention stage."
Aug 22, 2024
What would a Palestinian speaker tell U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the thousands of delegates gathered at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and millions more people watching across the country and around the world as Israel—which is on trial for genocide at the World Court—continues its obliteration of Gaza?
On Thursday, the Uncommitted National Movement—which garnered hundreds of thousands of Democratic primary votes against the Biden-Harris administration's support for Israel's war—circulated a copy of the speech it still hopes to deliver on the DNC main stage.
However, DNC organizers are refusing to allow any Palestinian to speak on that stage, where the Israeli-American parents of a young man kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 spoke Wednesday night with Uncommitted's blessing. Uncommitted used a space away from the main stage to hold a first-ever DNC panel on Palestinian rights on Monday and a Tuesday press conference featuring testimonies from American doctors who recently volunteered in Gaza hospitals.
"We don't know why the campaign said no. We literally have no feedback. We are in the dark."
The DNC rebuff prompted a sit-in protest by some of the approximately 30 Uncommitted delegates and their supporters, as well as calls from progressive lawmakers, human rights defenders, and allies including the United Auto Workers for the Democratic Party to change course.
Uncommitted and allied groups including Let Palestine Speak and Not Another Bomb held a Thursday evening press conference outside the United Center, the Chicago arena hosting the DNC and the site of large protests before and during the convention.
"We are waiting for a phone call from Vice President Harris and the DNC to allow a single Palestinian American speaker from the convention stage," Uncommitted said earlier Thursday. "Our party's platform states that every life is valuable: whether American, Palestinian, or Israeli."
The proposed DNC speech would be delivered by Uncommitted delegate and Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman (D-97), who is Palestinian American.
Here's what she wants to say:
My name is Ruwa Romman, and I'm honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention. My story begins in a small village near Jerusalem, called Suba, where my dad's family is from. My mom's roots trace back to Al Khalil, or Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was eight, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets.
Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my partner in mischief—whether it was sneaking me sweets from the bodega or slipping a $20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and smile. He was my rock, but he passed away a few years ago, never seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I don't miss him.
This past year has been especially hard. As we've been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I've thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind.
But in this pain, I've also witnessed something profound—a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we've stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That's why we are here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world.
They'll say this is how it's always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer—shunned for her courage, yet she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and it's her example we follow.
But we can't do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our party's greatest strength has always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but it's time we flex that strength.
Let's commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris, and defeating Donald Trump, who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let's fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a cease-fire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together.
Uncommitted toldMother Jones that it is open to having the speech vetted and even edited, but that the DNC has not asked to see it.
"We don't know why the campaign said no. We literally have no feedback. We are in the dark," said Romman. "I want to be clear. We've been in negotiations for days. This did not just come up... We've been talking about this for at least a week."
Some observers speculated that the DNC is denying stage time to a Palestinian because party officials worry the speaker will go off-script and criticize the Biden administration's staunch support for Israel in the form of tens of billions of dollars in military assistance, diplomatic cover including United Nations Security Council vetoes, and outright genocide denial.
"We need the stages of the DNC to reflect the fullness of our party, inclusive of Palestinian Americans, who are grieving and mourning and demanding better of their leaders," said Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)—whose sponsorship of a Gaza cease-fire resolution led to a torrent of cash from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee into her pro-Israel Democratic primary opponent's campaign coffers. Bush lost the race.
"The Democratic Party prides itself on being the party of human rights," Bush added. "So when it comes to defending Palestinian lives and ending the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Democratic Party needs to uphold those same values."
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