Colorado Fire-Bomb Attack Marks Rising Violence Targeting US Jews

NDTV

2 days ago

An attack that injured 12 people at a Colorado event in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza is intensifying fears over rising antisemitism and violence against Jews in the US. Authorities on Sunday detained Mohamed Soliman for allegedly throwing two Molotov cocktails into a pro-Israel crowd and using a flamethrower at the event in Boulder. The suspect yelled "Free Palestine" during the attack, according to law enforcement.
He faces a federal hate crime charge and dozens of state charges of attempted murder and attempted use of incendiary devices. An FBI special agent involved in the case said the suspect told investigators he "wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead."
It's the second instance of major antisemitic violence in the US in recent weeks. Two members of the Israeli Embassy's staff were killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, last month. The suspect in that case also yelled "Free Palestine" as he was taken into custody, according to authorities.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after Hamas attacked the country on Oct. 7, 2023, and killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. The Jewish state's retaliation has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and prompted anti-Israel protests, most notably on American college campuses. While most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, some of them have included violent and antisemitic rhetoric.
"The Jewish community has been warning the world that chants of 'globalize the intifada' and 'resistance by any means necessary' are calls to violence," said Ted Deutch, the chief executive officer of the American Jewish Committee. "We've now seen that violence erupt in America twice in less than two weeks."
Antisemitic incidents jumped 344% in the US in 2024 from five years prior, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The 9,354 instances recorded last year marked the most on record in the 46 years the ADL has tracked anti-Jewish incidents.
In April, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were forced to flee their home after a man allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into the residence. Hours earlier, Shapiro - who is Jewish - had hosted a Passover seder in the room that was set ablaze.
Makeshift Flamethrower
The people injured in the Colorado attack were taken to area hospitals, the Boulder Police Department said in a statement. They were part of a group, Run for Their Lives-Boulder, that has held regular demonstrations since the 2023 attack by Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US.
"Witnesses reported that the suspect used a makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd," the police department said in its statement. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said police recovered 16 unused Molotov cocktails that were "within arm's reach" during the attack. He said they also found an improvised flamethrower, which was a backpack device meant to apply weed killer and containing a flammable liquid.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, said the victims "were brutally attacked while peacefully marching to draw attention to the plight of the hostages who have been held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for 604 days." He said it was "unfathomable" that the Jewish community was facing another attack.
Immigration Status
The incident also provides more ammunition for the Trump administration in its drive for tougher immigration policies. It has previously targeted students and faculty on American campuses who have expressed pro-Palestinian views.
Soliman, a citizen of Egypt, has been residing in the US on a visa that expired in 2023, according to government officials. President Donald Trump condemned the attack and blamed the immigration policies of former President Joe Biden for the presence of the suspect.
"Yesterday's horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America," Trump said Monday on his social-media platform.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, wrote in an X post that "immigration security is national security."
Soliman planned the attack for a year, waiting to strike until after his daughter's school graduation, according to an FBI agent investigating the attack.
He told local and federal law enforcement after the attack that he researched how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube and traveled from his home in Colorado Springs to the site of the Boulder gathering. Authorities also said Soliman told them he had tried to buy a gun but was prevented because of his immigrations status.
The agent said authorities found a black plastic container with a yellow top near where the suspect was arrested. The container held unlit Molotov cocktails, made from glass wine carafes and Ball jars, with gasoline and red rags hanging out of the bottles.
Soliman faces as long as decades in prison if convicted of the state charges. Additional charges could be filed in the federal case.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a series of posts on X that the attack "was aimed against peaceful people who wished to express their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas," adding he trusted the US would prosecute the perpetrator and do all it could to prevent future similar attacks.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, said Sunday's attack "appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted."