Tara Winer has been on Boulder’s City Council since 2021. She is now running for her final term. Her demeanor was immensely positive and it is clear she feels called to do the work she’s been doing.
How does she feel about being a Jew today in Boulder? How does she navigate the rise of anti-Semitism, specifically in local city politics?
“I feel great. I’m not a fearful person by nature, and I’m proud to be Jewish, and to stand up for the Jews. I work hard to get the far-left organizations to leave the Jews alone.”
Winer filled out Working Family Party’s questionnaire form, and appreciated that its Colorado director, Wynn Howell, was making efforts to address anti-Semitism. Winer said she will not engage with DSA, and that it is necessary to find new ways to protect Jews in the political realm.
Being a city councilwoman affords Winer the opportunity to speak her mind. She was adamant, however, that it is essential that members of the Boulder Jewish community continue to advocate for themselves and call out anti-Semitism “when it rears its ugly head.”
I asked about the most recent case of two women, both of whom were injured at the June 1, 2025 fire-bombing attack on Boulder Run For Their Lives, and both of whom were harassed leaving the Sept. 3 City Council open-comment session where they came to speak about the closing of a public pool.
Winer said no citizen should be subjected to that kind of verbal assault, and agrees with Councilwoman Nicole Speer’s idea that the council start treating harassment outside the municipal building in the same way it is addressed outside of abortion clinics, with distances that need to be maintained between protesters and those entering the building.
Winer is aware that there is a problem at City Council with the targeting of Jewish citizens, and that there was a major uptick after Oct. 7, 2023.
“We need the community to keep calling attention to it. The only way to get the issue of anti-Semitism to rise to the top is to keep calling it out.
“Letters from the community are helpful, but even more helpful is having community members speak publicly at open comment.”
The federal complaint by ADL against Boulder Valley School Distrct over anti-Semitism was recently settled. Winer clarified that City Council has nothing to do with the school district, and that BVSD, like CU, is its own entity. She sees herself as a “connector” and attended the Aug. 11 Council meeting at which the anti- Semitism in the school district was addressed to show support to the Jewish community. She is in favor of ADL’s No Place For Hate program.
Winer is well aware of the weekly Saturday protest that takes place in Boulder on the corner of Canyon and Broadway. While anti-war protests have taken place there since the early 2000s, Aaron Brooks, director of the new organization Jewish Alliance of Colorado, said they have become increasingly anti-Israel since Oct. 7.
Brooks has been showing up to counter-protest, carrying an Israeli flag and taking video, since shortly after Oct. 7, 2023.
He said he reported the huge signs reading “Israel Kills Children” affixed to public property in violation of Boulder Revised Code § 5-4-15, along with other signs specifically calling out Jews.
Per Brooks, one member of the group often yells loudly through a bullhorn, and another has thrown an Israeli flag on the ground and poured red paint on it.
Winer said that the City Manager, Nuriya Rivera-Vandermyde, is aware of what is taking place there and in front of the municipal building during city council meetings. As Winer noted, there is a legal process that must be followed.
When asked how damaging she thinks these protests are, Winer cited the issue of free speech, and once again emphasized how important it is that the Jewish community remain involved, including requesting police presence if needed.
“I am heavily dependent on the Jewish community to fight back.” Winer said there are times when community members can be more powerful creating change than council members.
While discussing the upcoming election for mayor and five city council seats (with three incumbents running), Winer said she will endorse the current mayor, Aaron Brockett, who she feels has stood by her side, and who has made efforts to address anti-Semitism at council meetings, including changes to open comment.
With ranked choice voting in the mayoral election, Winer says the most important thing is ensuring that Taishya Adams, currently a council member, does not win.
Adams has made over 1,200 social media posts that are Gaza and Israel related, pushed for BDS, and was unwilling to sign a letter after the June 1, 2025 fire-bombing because it did not include the word anti-Zionism.
Winer thinks Adams has become radicalized and cited the example of her posting a picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on her feed on March 13, 2026. Winer brought the post to the attention of community members, pointing out how it was offensive and undermined the plight of so many Iranians fighting against this regime.
Winer acknowledged that there have been times she and Adams have voted similarly on issues, so she tries to keep Adam’s Instagram posts out of Council discussions.
On Sept. 24, Boulder City Council will have a study session on “Sister Cities Process & Language Update.” This is a particularly important issue for Winer and for other Jewish citizens who expressed great concern when Boulder Nablus Sister City (BNSCP) was approved in 2016.
As Winer pointed out, sister cities are not allowed to be political, and yet BNSCP has continually overstepped its boundaries. The question now is what the City of Boulder will do about it. This upcoming meeting will hopefully address how rules are enforced, and what council members’ roles are vis a vis the sister cities, specifically with regard to political involvement. These are the questions she wants posed to the City Attorney.
Winer and Peter Ornstein have been co-presidents of Ramat HaNegev Sister City since it was approved in 2018. She said they are very careful about avoiding politics on their website.
“Sister cities are about peace. The whole concept is about people to people relationships. The goal of a sister city is to humanize all people apart from their governments.”
Winer feels that that is the opposite of what Adams has done as the liaison to BNSCP, and she wants to see this addressed.
Winer also stressed the importance of Jews needing to double-check who they are supporting, and voting in people who will support the Jewish community.
“We need candidates who will stand up for us when we are attacked,” she said.
Winer knows what it means to be an ally. On Sept. 6, 2024, she confronted a man yelling racial slurs at a Chinese-Asian cultural celebration where children were present. She was punched in the face, thrown on the ground and broke a rib in the process.
Winer spoke of the need to think strategically, and to decide when it is best to speak out, and which issues deserve the most attention.
When confronted by anti-Zionist comments, Winer said she asks for more clarification of what they mean by Zionism. She said she has had people backtrack when she points out that her understanding of Zionism is “the belief that the Jews should have their own homeland.”
If the person she is speaking to says Israel should not exist, she deems that as crossing over to anti-Semitism.
When asked what her message is to community members, Winer focused on unity, on people coming together to make Boulder a great place to live.
She is frustrated with the name-calling and the public humiliation of people, especially on social media.
“We need more Friends of the Jews,” she said. “We need more people to care.”
Winer was clear that everyone in the Jewish community has a role.
“We each have our purview. I was not in the political world until I joined City Council. We each need to ask ourselves what can I do in my particular world to stand up against anti-Semitism. We need to do what we feel called to do.
“We each have to do what G-d has put before us.”
