Latest news with #BoulderCityCouncil
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Colorado pol who refused to condemn Boulder firebombing shows true colors at council meeting: critics
An anti-Israel official in Boulder, CO, refused to condemn as antisemitic the horrific firebombing of Jews at a peaceful demonstration — then 'doubled down' by wrapping herself in the colors of the Palestinian flag, critics said. Taishya Adams took office shortly after Hamas' Oct 7, 2023 massacre of 1,200 Israelis. Adams, 50, was seen as 'egging on antisemitism,' an insider told The Post, long before Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman unleashed a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails last week on unsuspecting members of the group Run 4 Our Lives. 3 Taishya Adams was the sole member of the Boulder City Council who would not sign a letter condemning the June 1 attack. Boulder City Council The group holds a weekly walk calling for Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages. Soliman, 45, faces 118 criminal counts for the June 1 incident which left 15 people, as well as a dog, seriously hurt. When city officials offered a 'letter of solidarity' this week condemning the hate crime — Adams was the sole councilmember who refused to sign. She then turned up at the live-streamed Thursday council meeting in a bright red blazer with a large green scarf wrapped around her neck. 'She's doubling down,' seethed the insider. 3 Adams has long been seen as 'egging on antisemitism,' an insider told The Post. LinkedIn/Taishya Adams 'It's disgusting,' seethed Run for Our Lives member Aaron Brooks of the pro-Palestinian fashion statment. 'It's grossly insensitive.' Local Rabbi Marc Soloway slammed Adams in a withering speech Wednesday in front of Gov. Jared Polis. 'In this moment when we're reeling, just days after someone tried to burn Jews to death, that the city council could not unanimously denounce this as an act of antisemitism is horrifying,' he told The Post. City council member Mark Wallach ripped Adams — who is liaison to Boulder's Palestinian 'sister city' of Nablus and returned from a self-funded official trip last month – during the meeting. 'You may find that act courageous — but I find it inexplicable and virtually inexcusable,' blasted Wallach, addressing Adams directly. 'Where is your sense of grace and mercy?' The flummoxed Adams stumbled through a word salad response, pointing to her statement about yanking her support for the solidarity letter, and claimed she looked forward to 'continued dialogue,' noting this is 'not time for the head, but for the heart.' 3 Adams wrapped herself in the colors of the Palestinian flag just days after the antisemitic firebombing in Boulder, Colorado. erika8213 – Adams' ongoing 'anti-Israel propaganda' has included posting about anti-Israel demonstrations on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack and ripping the City Council last year for having 'blood on our hands' for failing to pass a ceasefire resolution against Israel. Omer Shachar, co-leader of the walk, called the attack 'pure antisemitism' and recalled seeing an octogenarian friend aflame. 'When I think about Sunday, I see her,' he said, noting she was 'on fire — top to bottom, from legs to the hair.' He can't shake the imagery of friends with 'skin just peeled off.' 'It's beyond words.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Take a stand against terror in Boulder
A wall in Tel Aviv, Israel, is covered with photos of hostages held in Gaza. () Ever since 251 people were taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, a group of residents in Boulder have refused to let the community forget the people who were abducted. The group is the local chapter of the global Run For Their Lives, which organizes events calling for the release of the hostages. Participants in the Boulder chapter have demonstrated by walking in the city's downtown area every week — 80 weeks so far — since November 2023. Their walk on Sunday came on the 604th day since the hostages were taken. It also marked the first time they encountered violence. An assailant attacked the demonstrators with a flamethrower and crude homemade bombs in what federal prosecutors say was an antisemitic hate crime. The attack came amid rising antisemitism throughout the country and followed other recent acts of violence against Jews. The threat of more violence is real. It's uncertain when the group will walk again. The tragedy is compounded to the extent terror muzzles the group's message. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Run For Their Lives is nonviolent and nonpolitical. It is not pro-Israel. It is not anti-Palestine. It has a single purpose, which no person of conscience should find objectionable: to raise awareness and call for the release of hostages. There are still 58 hostages in Gaza, including four Americans. Roughly 20 are believed to be alive, and group members want the remains of the rest to be given a proper burial. 'This is an international humanitarian crisis, where people from many varying backgrounds and religions and ethnicities were taken hostage. They were not just Israelis,' Shari Weiss, global coordinator of Run For Their Lives, said during an interview this week on WBUR. She acknowledged the horrors that have befallen Gaza as Israeli forces continue military operations that have resulted in more than 50,000 deaths, most of the territory destroyed, and unspeakable hardship among survivors. 'The same people do understand the suffering of the Palestinian people and do understand that they are going through something extremely traumatic. You can absolutely hold space for that at the same time,' Weiss said. When members of the group demonstrate in Boulder, they walk silently for 18 minutes, the number value of the word 'chai,' Hebrew for 'life.' Many of the participants are older adults (the age range of victims is 52 to 88). They carry photos of the hostages. Tara Winer, a member of the Boulder City Council, sometimes joins the group on their walks. 'It's not a protest, it's not a march. Nobody talks, nobody does anything except walk,' said Winer, who is Jewish. 'I'm upset about the hostages, who are still there. So it's just a way to remind myself about them and also to remind my community about them.' Many participants have friends and family in Israel. 'They do not want people to forget these hostages … And this is their way of keeping their memory alive,' Winer said. 'I know on the walks I go to sometimes they mention all the people who have died in captivity. They mention the hostages by name. They say them by name, so people won't forget.' She was not on the walk Sunday. She described the victims as 'good friends.' Police said 12 people were injured in the attack, and at least one was in critical condition, but all are expected to survive. Run For Their LIves organizers intend to continue the walks, though they might stop for a time until adequate security can be ensured. Whatever the group's future, the Boulder and Colorado communities can sustain its humanitarian message. Terrorism succeeds only when its target is cowed or diminished. There is a way everyone who is horrified by the attack in Boulder can honor the victims and take a stand against terror: Remember the hostages. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
