BOULDER, Colo. — Sunday's attack on Pearl Street in Boulder has left the Jewish community along the Front Range in disbelief.
“I think we're feeling a multitude of emotions – fear, anger, despair,” said Rabbi Joseph Black, a Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanuel.
Police say 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman used a "makeshift flamethrower" and an incendiary device in the attack on a peaceful pro-Israel demonstration put on by the volunteer group Run for Their Lives.
- JEWISHcolorado has set up a fund to help those who were injured in Sunday's attack. If you'd like to donate, follow this link.
Rabbi Black told Denver7 he knows a number of people that would attend the Run For Their Lives events in Boulder every Sunday, which is described by organizers as a gathering to raise awareness for Israeli hostages in Gaza.
“It's close to home," said Rabbi Black. "It's frightening, but it also is something that we are all aware of."
Denver7 spoke with American Jewish Committee Western States Director Richard Hirshhaut, who said the committee condemned Sunday’s attack in Boulder.
“This is a moment, unfortunately, when the Jewish community has to keep security and its protection top of mind," Hirschhaut told Denver7. "We're grateful to law enforcement throughout Colorado. We're grateful to the message that Governor Polis put out earlier today. We're grateful to the FBI for calling this what it was and what it is—an act of terror."
On the eve of Shavuot, a major Jewish festival marking the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinau, Rabbi Black says the Jewish community is staying vigilant:
“We at Temple Emmanuel have taken very intense security protocols to make sure that our congregation is safe. I'm not going to go into the details of it, but at every Jewish event, it's always a possibility,” he said.
But even after Sunday’s act of terror he says this:
“This will not stop us, in any way, shape or form.”
Boulder