CHICAGO — Why was 2018 different from all other years? Mah nishtanah? 

November 2018 marked the first time that Colorado elected a Jewish official to a statewide office In fact, Coloradans elected two: Jared Polis as governor, and Phil Weiser as attorney general. Both are now in their second term. 

“Like myself, Jared is very open and proud of his Jewish heritage. His brother is actually a rabbi,” Weiser told Jewish Insider in a conversation at a Chicago Sweetgreen during the Democratic National Convention last week. “When I decided to run, it was very important that I run authentically to who I am, and that meant my Jewish identity and my family’s history as Holocaust survivors were front and center.” 

Weiser, an antitrust attorney who was previously the dean of the University of Colorado Law School, grew up in New York. He settled in Colorado after doing a clerkship there three decades ago. 

“I wanted to go clerk for a federal judge, as long as there was a welcoming Jewish community, and that’s true in Colorado, and it has been for a long time,” recalled Weiser, who is 56. In between the clerkship and a permanent move to the Rockies, Weiser clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court and worked in the Department of Justice’s antitrust division in the Clinton administration. He returned to Washington in the Obama administration for stints at the DOJ and the National Economic Council.

Weiser, the state’s top law enforcement officer, oversaw a major investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests. In his 2022 reelection campaign, he focused on upholding abortion rights. 

Growing up, Weiser learned to read Torah from his father, and he considers himself  a “student of Torah wisdom” today. He started a series on Jewish business ethics at the Denver Community Kollel, an immersive learning institute for Orthodox men.

“One of the great lessons about Talmudic learning is you’ve got two opinions — famously, Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai — and often the answer is not, ‘You’re right and you’re wrong.’ It’s, ‘You’re both right.’ And how do you integrate what’s right about two different perspectives is an essential element of Talmudic wisdom, and that’s something I take with me,” said Weiser. “It’s so important to listen, because when someone sees something different than you, that’s a chance to learn. So that learning has informed how I approach public life, public policy and my public service.” 

Last week, on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention, Weiser spoke at a luncheon hosted by Agudath Israel, an Orthodox organization. His speech at the event, which was focused on antisemitism and disrupted by anti-Israel protesters, was about how Jewish values guide his public service. Like other events hosted by Jewish organizations in Chicago last week, Agudath Israel had kept its event location private out of security concerns. But Weiser said Jewish Democrats’ fears of antisemitism in Chicago do not have to do with the party.

“One of the important things that Josh [Shapiro] has shown me, like Doug Emhoff, is to be proud and to be out there as being Jewish, and this party is, at its core, committed to inclusion, and that means all of us. And that’s something I will regularly say,” said Weiser, referencing the Pennsylvania governor and the second gentleman. 

At the Agudath Israel event, Weiser assailed antisemitism on both the left and the right. 

“Antisemitism on the right crystallized in Charlottesville. The chant, ‘Jews will not replace us,’ is a threat to the vision of E pluribus unum,” Weiser explained. “So is ‘Kill all Zionists’ and ‘Go back to Poland.’

Since Oct. 7, he shared, “I have had to come to terms with people saying some things that are hateful and painful.” 

But Weiser also said that the campus protests and encampments that swept American campuses in the spring, at times requiring response from law enforcement, were not a major issue in Colorado. Still, he condemned the tactics of some protesters. (Colorado was not without incident, despite Weiser’s claims; in June, anti-Israel protesters demonstrated outside the home of a Jewish University of Colorado regent. Some Colorado universities also had encampments, which sparked concerns of antisemitism among some in the Jewish community.) 

“The idea that you would interfere with the educational mission, shut down campuses or aggressively torment Jews on campus is so wrong. Thankfully, that has not been something that I’ve seen directly,” he said. “The statistics around hate crimes are harrowing when you think about, the overwhelming majority of hate crimes based on religion are against Jews, and that’s something that I am aware of.”

Weiser blocks off Friday evenings and Saturday mornings to observe Shabbat. It’s time to be with his family, but it’s also a way to introduce friends and colleagues to his faith. 

“I have found that by sharing our tradition, people are interested, they’re respectful, and it helps build relationships,” said Weiser. “I grew up in New York, where being Jewish is something that most people assume of everyone who’s there — where in Colorado, it’s, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. You’re Jewish. Tell me about it,’ and people are really open-minded and interested.”

Weiser’s term as attorney general wraps up in early 2027, and he hinted that he’s open to running for other elective office afterward.

“I have to give a lot of thought to that,” said Weiser. “I really do care about public service, and I love Colorado, so we’ll see where the journey takes me.”