BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado's Jewish community gathered in Boulder on Sunday for the 30th anniversary of the Boulder Jewish Festival, one year after a person threw Molotov cocktails at attendees gathered on Pearl Street, killing 82-year-old Karen Diamond and injuring more than a dozen others.
The anniversary brought heightened emotion as survivors, officials, and neighbors came together to honor Diamond and those who lived through the attack — while also celebrating resilience, community, and Jewish identity.
"So we came here today carrying grief, and we leave here carrying each other. Every voice in this space, the survivors, the officials, the neighbors who simply showed up, is proof that what happened here one year ago did not break us," one speaker said.
For survivors, the memories of the attack remain vivid.
"In an instant, every. Exploded. I remember the crash, the rush of wind, the terrifying heat rising up my back. I dropped my banner and ran," shared Michelle Goldman, a survivor of the attack last year shared.
For some who grew up in Boulder, like Marlene Sorota the attack shattered a sense of safety they had long taken for granted.
"Growing up here, like I said, a very innocent, naive person, no, not in Boulder, maybe somewhere else, but you just never know," described Sorota.
A moment of silence and candle lighting honored Diamond and the other survivors of the Pearl Street attack.
Speakers remembered Diamond's final message to her family.
"Who in her dying days expressed to her family that the only way to respond to such hate and darkness is with love and light," said Rabbi Mark Soloway.
But the festival was also a celebration. Attendees marked the resilience of a community that has faced hatred for generations.
"There's no room for hate anywhere, so you know that's just what just I mean, the Jewish people have been been under hate for years and years and years going way back, so you know it's nothing new to them, but you know, especially to have something like that happen in this community is, is kind of surprising, but shocking, can happen anywhere," Al Sorota said.
Others spoke to the broader meaning of the gathering.
"This event is about solidarity and joining the Jewish people and other cultures in efforts to create peace and harmony," described Steve Finsilver
The message of unity extended beyond any single faith or background.
"We're all one, it's just, it's not, we're no different than any of the other communities, we just all need to respect everybody's beliefs and rights and come together," Sorota said.
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