Boulder Reporting Lab: The Boulder City Council on June 5 suspended its open comment period for this week’s council meeting, marking a significant step in response to more than a year of frequent disruptions by attendees urging a Gaza ceasefire resolution. In recent months, some of the rhetoric has escalated into personal attacks against Jewish councilmembers.

The decision came four days after a man threw Molotov cocktails at participants in the weekly Run for Their Lives event on Pearl Street. At least a dozen people were injured, and three remain hospitalized, according to law enforcement. Prosecutors said the attacker yelled “Free Palestine” during the assault and later told investigators he targeted Run for Their Lives participants because he “hated the Zionist group,” echoing language heard at recent council meetings.

For more than a year, residents have used open comment to condemn Israel’s war in Gaza and urge councilmembers to pass a ceasefire resolution, often alleging they bear some responsibility for the conflict. Some remarks in recent months have included antisemitic slurs and direct personal attacks, including at least one attendee calling a Jewish councilmember a Nazi and a Jewish supremacist. The city has responded by increasing police presence at meetings, among other measures.

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