This past Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, a Jewish group holding a weekly demonstration calling for the release of Israeli hostages was attacked by a man armed with Molotov cocktails, who yelled “free Palestine.” T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights condemned the attack, describing it as an antisemitic hate crime, and warned against incendiary language that can lead to violence.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, said:
“T’ruah is horrified by Sunday’s terrifying antisemitic attack on Run For Their Lives in Boulder. As we learn more details about the condition of the victims — including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor — we are praying for a refuah shleimah, a complete and speedy recovery. Our hearts go out to the Boulder Jewish community. We are grateful to our colleagues, the Boulder rabbis and cantors, who are providing spiritual care to those injured in the attack, to their families, and to the entire Boulder Jewish community.
“Let’s be clear: This attack on Jewish Americans peacefully gathering in support of the Israeli hostages was antisemitic. Nor does this hateful violence do anything to help Palestinians in Gaza.
“We are disturbed to learn that the suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, had planned this attack for over a year, was armed with 18 Molotov cocktails, and was originally planning to murder all of the participants. He later told police that he wanted to ‘kill all Zionist people.’
“We are grateful that many pro-Palestinian leaders have condemned this attack. We urge leaders on all sides of the political spectrum to denounce this attack and to stop the use of dehumanizing and incendiary language that can lead to violence.
“The attack took place less than two weeks after two young Israeli Embassy staffers were murdered outside a Capital Jewish Museum event in Washington, DC. It is no surprise American Jews are feeling fearful. No one should have to fear being physically attacked because of who they are or what they believe. And no one should fear attending a Jewish event or visiting a Jewish institution because of the threat of violence.
“It is not surprising that President Trump has already begun to exploit this violence to support his mass deportation agenda. In his statement following the attack, he did not mention Jews or antisemitism, but only called for deporting “Illegal, Anti-American Radicals.” Like any alleged perpetrator of a crime, Soliman should be brought to justice through the court system. His actions do not reflect in any way on the millions of other immigrants in the United States. And the perpetrator of last month’s fatal shooting in DC was an American citizen, as have been the perpetrators of most antisemitic and other hate-based violence. Furthermore, we are disturbed by the threats to deport Soliman’s family without due process. While it is appropriate for law enforcement to question anyone who might have knowledge of the crime, the alleged attacker’s wife and children deserve due process and should not be detained and deported as punishment for his crime.
“This attack took place just before the beginning of Shavuot, the holiday which celebrates the Jews receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai and the spring harvest. Some Jewish communities have the tradition of splashing each other with water on Shavuot, to symbolize the way the Torah is life-giving, like flowing water. Just as water puts out literal flames, we know that the Torah’s lessons — of compassion, of justice, and of working for the common good — are an antidote to the hatred and violence we witnessed on Sunday.”
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About T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights brings the Torah’s ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice to life by empowering our network of over 2,300 rabbis and cantors to be moral voices and to lead Jewish communities in advancing democracy and human rights for all people in the United States, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.