As the conflict between Israel and Hamas approaches its fifteenth month with no clear end in sight, the violence in the Middle East has continued to inflame tensions within the Boulder community.

That tension once again came into stark relief at Thursday’s City Council meeting. Several council members on Thursday were moved to speak about the conflict for the first time in months, affirming once again they do not intend to take an official stand on the conflict, even as the tenor of community discourse around the war has grown increasingly hostile.

For months, members of the public have expressed outrage at council meetings about the growing death toll of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has surpassed 40,000 people, and the lack of food, water, medical supplies and shelter available to civilians there. Activists have pleaded with city officials to take a stand on the conflict, to pass a resolution supporting a ceasefire in Gaza or to divest city resources from companies they say support Israel.

Other community members have insisted that the council should refrain from getting involved in overseas conflicts and instead keep its focus on local issues. Some have defended Israel’s actions and have criticized the council for not doing enough to curb what they characterized as antisemitic speech at council meetings. They’ve also spoken of Jewish community members in Boulder feeling harassed, threatened and unsafe. Councilmember Tara Winer, who is Jewish, has received threatening emails and has been targeted with racial slurs.

Council members have largely stayed silent on the conflict since February, when they voted 7-2 against exploring a ceasefire resolution. Most council members said at the time that they did not believe the council should get involved in non-local issues. Councilmembers Taishya Adams and Lauren Folkerts disagreed, and since then, Adams has continued to voice support for a ceasefire, saying the conflict does qualify as a local issue because it directly impacts community members in Boulder and because the U.S. government has supplied arms and funding for Israel.

But at Thursday’s council meeting, for the first time in months, numerous other council members spoke up about the war. Several of them said that, while they hear community members’ concerns, they have not changed their minds about whether the city should involve itself in the conflict. They also told activists that continuing to call for the city to take action on the conflict would be futile.

“My heart breaks for the death and the suffering in Israel and in Gaza and across the Middle East. But I want to reiterate that this body, the City Council body, has no role in international affairs, that a ceasefire resolution has nothing to do with the business of the city, and I really do not think this is going to change,” said Mayor Aaron Brockett. “This is not something that I’m changing my mind on. I don’t see that from my colleagues (either).”

Brockett also said he’s been “disturbed” by some remarks that community members have made recently. At the Nov. 21 council meeting, an open comment speaker lambasted council members for their lack of action on the conflict and compared them to Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann. Council members have called this comparison “offensive” and “disgraceful.”

Meanwhile, Councilmember Matthew Benjamin at Thursday’s meeting praised the virtue of free speech but emphasized that that speech should be “productive.” He decried the “dog whistling of antisemitism or the direct antisemitism that is already running rampant” in the community.

Benjamin addressed activists, saying, “In this council, we’ve made a decision not to engage on (the conflict), and certainly not to do a ceasefire resolution. And it’s important that you understand very clearly that that’s like banging your head against the wall and then wondering why your head hurt and blaming the wall.”

Benjamin urged community members to reach out to elected officials “who have true power on this issue,” saying that the City Council does not have the authority to influence the conflict. “… Continuing to petition us to do something that we have voted that we are not (going to do) is only going to further enrage you and get you frustrated. … That is not what we’re here to do. We’re here to solve the issues of the city.”

Councilmember Taishya Adams has also come under fire for her remarks at the Nov. 21 council meeting where she said council members have “blood on our hands” in the Israel-Hamas conflict. When Councilmember Tara Winer later challenged this statement, Adams claimed she had said there was blood on “my” hands, not “our” hands.

On Thursday, Adams apologized to Winer for “misspeaking” on Nov. 21 and admitted that she did say there was “blood on our hands.” Adams clarified by saying, “Upon reflection, I do believe that the council has obligations and responsibilities, and that’s really what I meant.”

Since October 2023, the conflict has stirred intense local controversy that has rippled throughout the community. The Israel-Hamas conflict has been raised during open comment at nearly every council meeting this year.

Emotions have run high as community members have flown Palestinian and Israeli flags and carried protest signs into the council chambers. Shouting, chanting and verbal confrontations between community members have become commonplace, and when these activities have become disruptive to meetings, the council has taken brief recesses for several minutes. Brockett called two recesses at Thursday’s meeting.

This summer, the council also changed its rules for meeting participation, restricting the size of signs that could be brought into the council chambers and the number of people who could stand at the podium during public comment. These changes angered some activists and led to feelings of being “silenced.”

Originally Published: December 6, 2024 at 11:53 AM MST