Boulder Jewish Festival Holds 30th Annual Event Week After Anti-Semitic Attack

"This is a very complicated Jewish festival," said Rabbi Marc Soloway, leader of the Bonai Shalom Jewish congregation in Boulder, a week after the anti-Semitic firebombing attack by an Egyptian man shouting pro-Palestinian slogans on Pearl Street.

On June 8, thousands of people gathered at the same location where a man had attacked Run for Their Lives demonstrators holding signs featuring photos of hostages still held in Gaza; fifteen people were injured. The suspect has been charged with 118 state crimes as well as a federal offense.

The thirtieth annual Boulder Jewish Festival had already been set for this day, and organizers vowed that the event would go on...but with some changes.

Uniformed law enforcement was thick on the Pearl Street Mall, and a Boulder police officer said that the visible presence was just the tip of the iceberg. Snipers with rifles on tripods were posted on the roof of the historic Boulder Courthouse, as well as the brick retail building across the square. "We like to call [the snipers] 'overwatch,'" Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn told Westword.

"Our lives have changed this week," Rabbi Marc Soloway continued at the ceremony that accompanied the walk. "We're here, we're sad, we're grieving, we're angry and we're afraid. And yet we are comforted as Rabbi [Fred] Greene said, by our resilience and the strength and love of this community, our beloved Jewish community and the wider circles that we have, circles of friends and neighbors, faith leaders, elected officials here, and all around the world who've reached out to us. We feel seen and we feel loved, and our gratitude is part of our healing."
The festival had dozens of vendors' booths; several, like Hostage Square, highlighted the hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which spurred the current war in Gaza. At noon, the weekly Run for Their Lives walk to raise awareness of the hostages still in captivity set off on the same route it's taken every week for over a year. "We always planned for today to have a walk as part of this festival," said Jonathan Lev, executive director of the Jewish Community Center. "After the horrible attack last week, we knew we needed to elevate their voices further."

A half-dozen or so pro-Palestinian demonstrators held signs and shouted at passersby a block from the festival. They were outnumbered by the law enforcement officers keeping watch on them.
"That's fully expected," Redfearn said of the pro-Palestinian contingent. "But we also have some crowd management teams here in case things get out of hand."

A steady stream of walkers stopped by the chief to express gratitude for the protective atmosphere. "We understand people might be like, 'Wow!'" Redfearn said of the show of force. "But the goal is, for anybody that might want to do something harmful, to be very clear that they'll be dealt with very rapidly. And the message I've heard today from this community was "Thank you — It's weird to see all this extra presence, but we're glad you're here.'"

Keep reading for more photos from the thirtieth annual Boulder Jewish Festival: