Hundreds of people attended a Jewish festival in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday, held at the site of an antisemitic terrorist attack last week.
As in previous years, the annual festival was held at the Pearl Street pedestrian mall. Pro-Israel demonstrators have been gathering there weekly, usually staging a small demonstration with several dozen participants, to raise awareness regarding the plight of the hostages being held by terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally, was charged in state court with 118 counts, including attempted murder, assault, illegal use of explosives and animal cruelty. On June 1, he allegedly attacked the pro-Israel protesters with firebombs and a makeshift blowtorch while shouting “Free Palestine.” He has also been charged with a hate crime in federal court and is jailed on a $10 million cash bond.
Soliman told police he was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people.” Authorities said he expressed no remorse about the attack, NPR reported.
At Sunday’s festival, held under heightened security, attendees lined up for traditional Jewish and Israeli food sold by local vendors. Rows of empty chairs in tents labeled “Hostage Square” bore the faces of the missing, along with the plea: “Bring them home now!” AP reported.
Participants carried signs bearing messages like “End Jew Hatred” and distributed stickers with the number “611,” marking the number of days the hostages have spent in captivity.
Moshe Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran is still being held in Gaza, attended the event and praised the courage of the Boulder community. He called Miran “a gentle and loving gardener, husband and father to two young children,” AP reported.
Pre-recorded messages from hostages’ families were played for the crowd. In one, Miran’s young child said in Hebrew, “When daddy comes back from Gaza, he’ll take me to kindergarten.”
“Just seeing them speaking to us, here, with all they’re going through, their supporting us is kind of mind-blowing,” Merav Tsubely, an Israeli-American who travelled from a nearby town to attend, told AP. “It just reminds us how connected we all are.”
Former Colorado State Sen. Steve Fenberg was also present, marching with his daughter Isa, as was Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper, among other local dignitaries.
Security at the event was tight, with the Boulder Police Department and FBI working together to safeguard attendees. Local synagogues and the Boulder Jewish Community Center also received added protection. Officers patrolled the entrances, and Police Chief Stephen Redfearn confirmed that plainclothes officers were among the crowd. On a nearby rooftop, three officers with rifles and binoculars kept watch, as drones flew overhead.
