One week after attack, Boulder Jewish Festival resonates with resilience
“We feel seen and we feel loved, and our gratitude is part of our healing,” Rabbi Marc Soloway said.
BOULDER, Colo. − One week after a fiery attack on a gathering to support Israeli hostages in Gaza, security was highly visible on the Pearl Street Mall at the start of the Boulder Jewish Festival on Sunday.
Police officers and medics were posted throughout the plaza, and a vehicle barrier system was in place. Snowplow vehicles were also parked on the borders of the pedestrian plaza.
In the same place where demonstrators were attacked with Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flamethrower on June 1, a memorial to the people kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, stood.
Each of the 55 white chairs held an image of one of the hostages.
Sunday's event was the 30th anniversary of the festival, one of the longest-running Jewish cultural festivals in the nation.
Ronna Tuteur of Denver hasn’t been to the festival before, but she came this year to show solidarity. “It’s a real tragedy that happened, and I expect that there will be thousands of people here today,” Tuteur said. “I love the police presence and the drones. I feel safe.”
Security and creating a 'welcome space' were priorities
Organizers said they had been working closely with Boulder Police Department, JEWISHColorado and state officialsto ensure safety.
"These are precautionary measures and not based on any specific threat," the statement said. "The top priority is creating a secure, welcoming space where everyone can gather in solidarity and celebration."
Law enforcement was perched atop buildings, and drones flew overhead as thousands filled the plaza.
The crowd watched and heard video messages from some of the hostages’ family members, who expressed their gratitude for the Boulder chapter of Run for Their Lives, the group that sponsored the walk that drew the attack June 1.
'We will not stop fighting until he is home'
Moshe Lavi, whose brother-in-law, Omri Miran, is still held by Hamas, spoke Sunday.
“We will not stop fighting until he his home and until every single hostage who is held by Hamas in Gaza is brought home,” Lavi said. “Thank you, Boulder. Thank you, Run For Their Lives. You march for people you’ve never met, you speak up when others stay silent.”
The festival typically draws 10,000 to 15,000 people, said Jonathan Lev, executive director of the Boulder Jewish Community Center, which organizes the event.
But “we’ve never had the outpouring of support at any given one time the amount of people here today – couldn’t tell you how many,” Lev said.
“Today the outpouring of support was so profoundly beautiful and profoundly painful. We can live in both worlds, and when that happens, we actually have community support us, love us and hold us,” Lev said.
'We feel seen and we feel loved'
Rachel Amaru, founder of Boulder’s Run For Their Lives, said the one thing that has gotten her through since Oct. 7, 2023, are the weekly walks that haven taken place on Pearl Street, no matter the weather, since November 2023.
Chapter co-leader Bruce Shaffer said that after the attack on June 1, “we thought maybe no more marching,” before declaring: “No way are we stopping.”
“We’re grieving, we’re angry and we’re afraid, and yet we are deeply comforted by our resilience, and the strength and love of this community,” said Rabbi Marc Soloway, of Congregation Bonai Shalom. “We feel seen and we feel loved, and our gratitude is part of our healing.”
15 people were hurt in June 1 attack
No one died in the June 1 attack, but the wounded include eight females and seven males, ages 25 to 88, police said. The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian native who's been held on a $10 million bond, faces more than 100 criminal counts including multiple counts of attempted murder.
"The Jewish community is deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from near and far − local and global, interfaith, young and old," the statement said. "All are welcome, and we hope to have a tremendous turnout and show of solidarity."