SAN DIEGO (SDJW) — More reactions to the fiery attack Sunday on pro-Israel marchers in Boulder, Colorado, were received Monday at the offices of San Diego Jewish World. Here are the messages:
Michael Masters, Secure Community Network CEO: “It’s time to realize America is being threatened by Hamas supporters operating inside our country. Their goal is to kill Jews, just as was done on October 7th in Israel, but it likely won’t stop with Jews. Americans, from the President, every member of Congress, and elected officials everywhere, to all our citizens, must do more to fight this threat. If Nazi sympathizers carried out two successful attacks inside our country, all of us would be rightfully incensed and demand stronger actions. Two attacks are enough. What makes anyone think there won’t be a third attack, including one on non-Jews? An attack on the Jewish community is an attack on religious freedom and our democracy. It’s time for more action.”
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StandWithUs condemns the heinous June 1 attack in Boulder Colorado of peaceful members of the Jewish and non-Jewish community who were walking – as they’ve done every week since the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 – to raise awareness about the 58 remaining hostages held in horrendous conditions by Hamas in Gaza. Jews are under assault throughout the world and we call on our elected officials and community leaders to condemn these attacks by misguided people who blame Israel for defending themselves against the crimes the terror organization Hamas committed. [Miri Kornfeld, Director of StandWithUs in Colorado, is one of the 4 co-leaders of Run For Their Lives in Denver.]
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Run For Their Lives: On June 1, 2025, our peaceful Run for Their Lives walk in Boulder, CO was brutally disrupted in a violent assault that Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is calling a hate crime. We are grateful to him and Colorado Governor Jared Polis for their immediate and decisive responses.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the eight burn victims from Sunday’s attack for a speedy recovery. We thank law enforcement and the fire department for their quick response and to the doctors and nurses working to heal.
Run for Their Lives is an apolitical global organization with the sole mission of walking peacefully to raise awareness for the 58 hostages still held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza. We are so thankful for our Run for Their Lives leaders and community members, who are all volunteers in our 230 groups worldwide.
This global grass roots organization was founded on October 15, 2023, a week after the horrendous terrorist attack by Hamas that left more than 1200 murdered, injured, raped and kidnapped. These walks have been held every week since then for all the hostages — without any violent incidents until Sunday.
The plight of the hostages is an international humanitarian crisis. The hostages, who hail from multiple countries, religions and ethnicities, have been held in the tunnels of Gaza without aid for more than 600 days. Reports indicate that at least 20 of them are still presumed to be alive, and we believe there is a collective responsibility to release them all.
We call on world leaders to do everything they can to ensure the swift return home of each of the 58 hostages. Run for Their Lives remains committed to our mission until ALL the HOSTAGES are returned back home!
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Brian Romick, president and CEO, Democratic Majority for Israel — “We’re anguished and alarmed by reports of a violent terror attack on members of the Jewish community in Boulder, CO who were walking to raise awareness about Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. This brazen attack comes less than two weeks after the murder of two Israeli Embassy officials outside of the Capital Jewish Museum. Jews must be able to gather safely in Boulder, Washington, D.C., and around the world.
“We wish those injured a speedy recovery, and call for those responsible to be held accountable.”
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Halie Soifer, CEO of National Jewish Democratic Council:
We strongly condemn yesterday’s unconscionable attack on a ‘Run for Their Lives’ hostage awareness event in Boulder, Colorado, and are sending our prayers to those injured in and affected by this horrific act of violence.
We are also deeply troubled by what appears to be a disturbing pattern of anti-Israel sentiment manifesting itself in antisemitic violence.
In April, a man used molotov cocktails, very similar to those used yesterday in Colorado, to target Governor Josh Shapiro’s home on Passover, citing his alleged concern for “Palestinian people.”
In May, a man targeted and killed two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum because he believed they were Jewish. Once detained, he yelled “free, free Palestine.”
And yesterday, a man used homemade incendiary devices to burn eight peaceful demonstrators, aged 52-88, including a Holocaust survivor. At least one of the victims is in critical condition. The perpetrator of this attack yelled “free Palestine.”
These three attacks in the past two months are clear acts of antisemitic violence. This represents a deeply troubling pattern of such violence – possibly even copycat attacks – which must come to a decisive and immediate end.
The American Jewish community is in pain. We are mourning the loss of life and are reeling from violence. Arbitrarily attacking Jews only brings us all further from peace.
Every leader who claims to care about the safety of Jewish Americans should vigorously condemn these attacks and take action to defend against antisemitism in all its forms.
Since today is Shavuot, we know these attacks began 50 days ago, on Passover. Today it must end. We stand together against such violence and pain and send our prayers to all those harmed by these senseless acts of violence.
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U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum:
WASHINGTON – Within days, two antisemitic terrorist attacks in the U.S. have cast in stark relief the outcome of the normalization of hatred of the Jewish people. On May 21, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, staffers at the Israeli Embassy, were brutally murdered outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The shooter shouted, “Free, free Palestine.” Just 11 days later in Boulder, Colorado, a man yelling “Free Palestine” and “End Zionists” used a homemade incendiary device to viciously attack a peaceful march calling for the release of hostages of all nationalities held in Gaza for over 600 days. Several people remain hospitalized with life-threatening burns. One of the victims is an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor.
“Rarely in U.S. history has such murderous antisemitism been on display. These outrageous terrorist attacks reveal the antisemitism that drives those wanting to ‘globalize the intifada’ and pose an immediate threat to Jewish lives and the democratic foundations of our country,” said United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Chairman Stuart E. Eizenstat. “All sectors of society must unflinchingly confront antisemitism in all of its forms—including anti-Zionism—before it provokes more violence against innocent people. Unverified stories and conspiracy theories, rampant on social media and too often echoed in the press, preceded each of these attacks. The centuries-long portrayal of Jews as killers and predators—which the Nazis exploited to lay the groundwork for the Holocaust—makes clear the deadly consequences of this type of demonization.”
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Carol Ann Schwartz, Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, National President: “We are devastated to share that several members of our Hadassah community were injured in the antisemitic terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, as they participated in an event to remember the hostages kidnapped by Hamas. Our hearts are with all the victims of this horrific hate crime and with Jewish communities across the country who are feeling anxious and afraid to take part in everyday activities.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the alarming rise in antisemitic hatred and extremism, coming less than two weeks after the targeted murder of two young Israeli Embassy staffers leaving a Jewish event in Washington, DC. During this difficult time, we must take immediate action to address safety for the Jewish community and redouble our efforts to combat antisemitism in all forms.”
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Sasha Roytman, CEO, Combat Antisemitism Movement: This morning, I woke up to an image I can’t forget.
In Boulder, Colorado, six elderly Jews (reported number increased to 8, then 12) — including a Holocaust survivor — were attacked with Molotov cocktails while peacefully gathering. A terrorist tried to burn them alive.
It’s horrifying. It’s unthinkable. To try to burn Jews alive — especially the elderly — in 2025!And in the name of Hamas. A terrorist group rooted in antisemitism and hatred.
But this wasn’t the only horror.
Just days ago, in Washington, D.C., two Israeli Embassy staff members, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum after attending a Jewish community event. The assailant, Elias Rodriguez, shouted “Free, free Palestine” during his arrest.
In France, on Saturday, two synagogues, a Jewish restaurant, and even the Holocaust Memorial in Paris were vandalized.
In Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday, a pro-Palestinian mob physically blocked Jews from entering a synagogue to celebrate Shavuot.
In Gaza, yesterday, Hamas fabricated a massacre — a total lie — and global media outlets rushed to amplify it without verifying facts. A modern blood libel, echoing through headlines.
And tonight, once again, a missile was fired toward Israel by the Houthis. Like millions of Israelis, I took my children and ran to the shelter. We waited for the interception. This is our new normal — even during holidays like Shavuot, meant to celebrate unity, morality, and the gift of Torah.
At the same time, 58 hostages — are still held in Gaza, and the world barely utters their names.
To all those injured and traumatized by these attacks — from Boulder, Paris, Brisbane, Israel, and DC — I send you strength, solidarity, and my heartfelt prayers for a full and speedy recovery.
None of these events stand alone. They are all part of a bigger, darker pattern: A Global obsession with Israel — and that obsession is fueling a dangerous, growing wave of antisemitism.
We are being targeted, vilified, and attacked — not for what we do, but for who we are. And today, this hatred is being carried forward under the banner of Hamas — a genocidal terrorist organization. Instead of being isolated and defeated, Hamas is being defended, excused, and even glorified by some — in protests, on social media, on university campuses, and in the streets.
We don’t celebrate Hamas. We fight it — because we know exactly what its ideology leads to: October 7, Boulder, Paris, Brisbane… and beyond.
I’m writing to you not just as the CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, but as a Jew, as a father, as someone who can no longer stay quiet.
If you feel what I feel — if you see what I see — I ask you to act now:
Sign our petition calling on the United Nations to establish an International Day Against Antisemitism.
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Collated by San Diego Jewish World staff