Anti-Semitism in Our Backyard: Voice Media Group CEO, Westword Publisher Responds to Boulder Attack

A Sunday afternoon in Boulder turned into a nightmare on June 1 when Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, of Colorado Springs, shouted “Free Palestine” and threw Molotov cocktails into a crowd of demonstrators raising awareness about Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, injuring twelve people, most of them elderly and one a Holocaust survivor.

Westword distributes in Boulder. Our office in downtown Denver is only 25 miles from the Pearl Street Mall, where the hate crime took place. No matter the time or day, it’s our ongoing commitment to our community to report on breaking news that happens in our backyard. We scrambled to get our first stories up and bolstered that reporting with boots on the ground in Boulder on Monday –– coverage that we will continue.

For Voice Media Group CEO and Westword Publisher Scott Tobias, it’s our duty as an alt-weekly and major news outlet to not just report on the communities we serve, but to challenge them.

As a Jew who grew up between New York City and rural Connecticut, Tobias remembers anti-semitism surrounding him and feeling as though his only options were to laugh it off and act like it didn’t bother him. Now as an adult –– a father, an employer, a CEO and a community leader –– he feels he has an obligation to stand up to anti-semitism and discrimination in its many forms.

Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek: Let’s just start with the obvious question. What is your reaction to the Boulder attack?

Scott Tobias: The events in Boulder were not a tipping point, because they are ongoing. However, they hit a nerve because they took this discussion, this issue, and delivered it directly into our backyard and into our community. Let me be clear: This is not the first and only act locally, but this was poignant. We have now had a crazy anti-semite literally light innocent people on fire on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. These victims included children and the elderly. Whether it’s naivete or manipulation, using ‘Free Palestine’ as a veil is total bullshit.

The comment ‘Free Palestine’ has become such an obvious dog whistle for anti-semitism and hatred for Jews. It’s important for me as a community leader and the owner of a media outlet that we encourage and push for everyone in our community to have their eyes wide open. There should be no place for hate. There should be no place for absolute raw violence of this nature, or for it to be tolerated in any way, shape or form.

I want to be clear: Everything that is happening and has happened in Gaza is terrible. It has absolutely gone too far. The killing of innocents should never be condoned. But it’s important for everyone to remember how we got here: innocent children, women and elderly were raped, murdered, burned alive, taken hostage. Those events on October 7, 2023, led us to where we are today.

Yes, there is history. It goes further back than any of us. Heinous acts against Jews are happening domestically across our country, and now right here in Boulder, and they are being dismissed or excused in the name of false freedoms.

And Boulder hits close to home for you in a deeper personal way, is that right?

Yes, I have a son who goes to the University of Colorado Boulder. He could've been there. Any of us could’ve been there. This is here. It’s on our doorstep. I think the conversation needs to be bigger than it is.

Finally, regarding our ongoing coverage, what is your hope for Westword and all of our Voice Media Group publications?

As the owner of Voice Media Group, which has owned alt-weeklies across the country for thirty years, our job is to challenge and support the communities that we are in. That's what I hope we will continue to do. It’s not about taking a side, but making sure we are pushing the discussion in our communities. When we see something wrong, we need to call it out.

This company is built on diversity, including different religious backgrounds. We respect and welcome all people from every color and every walk of life. That is who we are and who we will continue to be.

We welcome your feedback on this piece and any of our coverage at [email protected].