In February 2024, as the Israel-Hamas war escalated, the Boulder City Council informally voted 7-2 against discussing a ceasefire resolution, citing council rules that limit their ability to weigh in on foreign affairs.
Months later, calls for such a resolution persist, dominating the council’s open public comment periods. Several councilmembers have reiterated their stance, arguing their time is better spent on local issues, such as homelessness.
Chatter in the council chambers and shouting directed at councilmembers have prompted about a dozen recesses this year, at times delaying work on city matters. Certain comments directed at them — including one comparing the city council to Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Holocaust — have been denounced as hate speech by councilmembers. Councilmember Tara Winer, who was called a “Jewish supremacist” during one meeting, has said she has felt unsafe at council meetings.
At last week’s meeting, several councilmembers took a tougher tone, condemning antisemitism and personal attacks while reiterating that they would not discuss a ceasefire resolution. Six police officers lined the room, along with an undercover officer, according to a councilmember. The meeting ended an hour beyond schedule, in part due to two recesses following disruptions. An item on their agenda to vote on was pushed to February 2025.
The ongoing disruptions have left councilmembers unsure of how to respond and increasingly divided on the contentious issue. They acknowledge there is only so much they can do to restrict free speech at city council meetings, even when it borders on or involves hate speech or disrupts meetings.
“That is probably one of the things I personally am struggling with the most,” Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Folkerts told Boulder Reporting Lab. “How to ensure everyone feels able to attend our meetings and speak without fear and to set the expectation that everyone’s feedback is worth listening to and is to be valued.”
In May, in response to attendees advocating for a ceasefire resolution, councilmembers adopted new rules to prevent large flag waving and holding up posters that block people’s views.
And on Thursday, Dec. 12, the Boulder City Council will again revisit its rules and procedures, this time focusing on responses to public comment. While the details are unclear, one reason for the review is that some councilmembers have been commenting on the war in Gaza after the public hearing period ends, prolonging discussions. Council rules are vague about whether such commentary is allowed.
Councilmember Matt Benjamin said he wants to clarify the council’s position on current rules and procedures. Benjamin, who opposes considering a ceasefire resolution, said that discussions about the war by some councilmembers following public hearings has fueled discontent among attendees, often leading to disruptions.
“The tenor of the overall meeting sours when we are having that tit for tat in open comment,” Benjamin told Boulder Reporting Lab. “It lessens, and more or less weakens, the council’s ability to work cordially together and find common ground when the beginning of the meeting is a place sown with division.”
While Benjamin did not suggest specific changes, he said options could include moving open comment to the end of city council meetings, after other business is resolved.
Councilmember Tara Winer, who opposes pursuing a resolution, said she is looking forward to discussing the rules on Dec. 12. She said she is interested in limiting the council’s ability to respond to public comment, partly to avoid detracting from other city business.
“I was elected to do the work of the city, not to defend my ethnicity,” Winer told Boulder Reporting Lab. She added, “We want to have a good atmosphere at the council because that is how you get a lot done for the city. Ultimately, the goal is for us to do the city business well.”
Some councilmembers remain more open to discussing the ceasefire resolution issue than others. For instance, Mayor Pro Tem Folkerts, who voted in favor of considering a resolution, has suggested that the city’s Human Relations Commission could advise councilmembers on engaging in productive dialogue about the issue but recently told community members there is not enough council support to move forward on a ceasefire resolution. Councilmember Nicole Speer, who voted against considering a resolution, previously suggested that the council prioritize revisiting its policy on international issues.
Councilmember Taishya Adams, who voted in favor of considering a resolution and has advocated for it since, recently requested that city officials provide information on the city’s investments, stating at a recent meeting that the city has “skin in the game,” referring to the war.
“I believe we have responsibilities because we do have the authority to submit a ceasefire and we do have the authority to determine what the investment criteria is for our city,” she said at the Dec. 5 city council meeting. “And I was hopeful that our current city council would follow in the steps of previous councils that have acted on behalf of international issues.”
While I support free speech, that right is not absolute. You can’t go into a crowded theater and shout “fire,” nor can you just go in and disrupt a city counsel meeting. Having an open discussion forum at the end of the meeting for people to voice their concerns and views after business is complete is a reasonable idea. We used to do this at HOA Board meetings and it worked well. But the people attending have to cooperate and wait until it is their turn.
I saw people from both sides of the issue with signs at Broadway and Canyon (maybe 8 people in total). My reaction was, do they really think they can alter US Foreign Policy by protesting in a city of 100k people? Something tells me that the White House is neither aware of these Boulder protests, nor would they really care if they were aware. And Boulder City Counsel certainly can’t weigh in on US Foreign Policy, as they don’t have an audience with Joe Biden or the president elect, and that isn’t the Counsel’s purpose or responsibility.
Instead of disrupting city counsel business, I suggest that the protesters write to their representative(s) in congress, or go to Washington DC and waive their signs and flags in front of the White House.
Boulder may not have an audience with the president but we do have representatives and senators in Washington that could have made a case. Now with trump it’s not relevant, but it’s still a moral issue. The US gov, and local gov, invest in and support Netanyahu in this slaughter. That’s the main difference between this war and others. This wouldn’t be possible without US military support
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Richard, how do you know that folks don’t do all these things simultaneously? Have you ever walked while speaking on the phone? I haven’t seen you at the protest for the Palestinian cause on Sat. at Broadway/ Canyon, OR the Israeli hostage walk on Sun., unless I just don’t know who you are, since you don’t identify with a surname.
It is absolutely in the City’s interest to weigh in on International affairs. In fact there is little more important. And no way can it be equated with calling fire in a theatre.
Fourth, I don’t have TIME to address my national folks as I am busy following 6 city boards, CC, and countless more civic issues, where also, I have never seen you. But it sounds like what you are really interested in is the Middle East. I’m interested in surviving WWIII, so that I even HAVE a local issue to focus my attention on.
What Council member Taiysha Adams actually said about City Council was that “we have skin in the game and blood on our hands.” She then denied saying that, claiming that she said “blood on my hands.” After being called out by members of the public via social media posts of the meeting recording, she admitted in her own social media to saying “blood on our hands” and doubled down that she means exactly that.
Adams’ remarks regarding the City’s “investment criteria” come up when Adams praises the advocates for a ceasefire resolution. She has stated her intent that the City not participate in “ecocide”, a palatable, nonspecific ‘sell’ to the citizenry and Council. But the first easy ecocide divestment target be companies dealing with Israel, because of the eco-impact of the war in Gaza. If ‘ecocide’ (not to mention homicide) was really the concern, then the real “blood on our hands” are the cellphones held by Council members and the public, containing rare metals mined in dangerous, health impairing conditions by essentially slave labor. Real change requires real self sacrifice.
Appreciate that Boulder is and has always been active in all ethical issues, whether largely symbolic and abroad, or closer at home. While it’s tempting to make fun of Boulder’s tendency to virtue signal, we should signal that we care. On this issue, however, it’s complex. Netanyahu is awful, and Hamas is awful, and in some ways Bibi is responsible for Hamas growing over the years. Innocent people, largely Gazans, are being murdered and that constitutes war crimes. Boulder, if able, could put out a statement that reflects that complexity, but speaks up for the voiceless.
Benjamin’s suggestion to move public comment, if it is anticipated to take up hours, to the end of meetings is reasonable.
All that said, I’d love to see Council focus on affordable housing with urgency, homeless solutions not talk with urgency, and climate crisis preparation and supporting local businesses with urgency.
Agree Waylon. Some kind of reasonable statement that captures the complexity and does not minimize the atrocities, and is also not blaming Jewish people or Israel. That should not even be contentious. People are being personally affected by this in Boulder as well so it’s not irrelevant. We should not be so willing to turn a blind eye because that is the easier route.
Boulder has many Sister city relationships. One of them is Boulder Nablus Sister City project:
https://bouldernablus.org/.
The city of Nablus is in the West Bank which has a population of mostly Palestinians.
Another Sister city is the Boulder-Ramat HaNegev Sister City:
https://bouldernegev.org/
Ramat HaNegev is in Israel.
One definition of a sister city relationship is that it “Promotes peace through people-to-people relationships”. Council could refer people protesting to these organisations as a way to work with the tragedy of Gaza. Whatever Council does it is obvious that its strategy of ignoring dissent, which has been a consistent strategy on many difficult local topics, does not work. An indication of this failure is having to have 7 police officers at a council meeting.
Hopefully at some point BRL would consider an article on the effect the Gaza war and national politics will have on our local society. I would argue that the failure of the Biden Administration to hold Israel accountable in its use of US weaponry on a trapped civilian population contributed mightily to the Democratic defeat on every level in the 2024 election. The effect of that defeat will filter down to local levels of government, including Boulder, as federal funds and policies go against many of the aspirations of our city, especially addressing the climate catastrophe. AIPAC, the controversial pro Israel lobby is a main funding contributor to Boulder Representative Joe Neguse and to Colorado Senator Michael Bennett, which might explain why neither person has even discussed the prospect of a cease fire. A main contributor to Senator Hickenlooper is J Street, another Israel lobbyist.
Michal Smith, your suggestion that people reach out to the Sister City projects to “work with the tragedy of Gaza” is interesting. However, the letter and spirit of Boulder Resolution #631 strongly indicates that Boulder’s sister city organizations are not intended to be platforms to argue or promote political positions. Moreover, these organizations are required to have 501c3 status under federal law, which also precludes significant political activity. Compare the website and FB posts of the Ramat Hanegev organization, which clearly adheres to this restriction, with the Boulder Nablus organization, which blatantly violates this restriction with its litany of anti-Israel posts. Currently, the Boulder City Attorney and City Manager are looking into this. Thank you.
Good morning,
My suggestion is to all those people who support BDS, is that they should stop using google for search and their cell phones, as there is no way to do either of those things without sending money to Israel. Of course it’s easier to virtue signal and suggest that divestment happen in a way that doesn’t disrupt you personally at all.
When that starts happening, I’ll know that we’re dealing with more than sound and fury signifying nothing
exactly