WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Holocaust survivor is one of at least 12 people injured when a suspect firebombed a peaceful walk calling for the release of Israeli hostages on Boulder's Pearl Street.
A participant with Run for Their Lives, the volunteer group that organizes the weekly walks, confirmed the connection to Scripps News Denver's Colette Bordelon Sunday evening. On Monday, a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) leader penned a social media post about the victim's past persecution.
The victims' names had not been released as of Monday morning. Denver7 is working to learn more about each of the victims in Sunday's attack.
"One of the victims of the Boulder attack was a Holocaust survivor. She endured the worst evil in human history. She came to America seeking safety," wrote Leo Terrell, the head of a DOJ task force to combat antisemitism.
He drew parallels between Sunday's attack and other recent bouts of violence against the Jewish community – which have been on the rise.
"And now, decades later, she’s victimized again by a terrorist screaming 'Free Palestine,'" Terrell continued, "the same slogan another terrorist just screamed when murdering Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim on May 21."
One of the victims of the Boulder attack was a Holocaust survivor.
— Leo Terrell (@LeoTerrellDOJ) June 2, 2025
She endured the worst evil in human history. She came to America seeking safety.
And now, decades later, she’s victimized again by a terrorist screaming “Free Palestine.” The same slogan another terrorist just…
Lischinsky and Milgrim were exiting the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. last month when they were shot and killed. The suspect — Elias Rodriguez allgedly shouted "Free, free Palestine" before firing shots at the Jewish couple.
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Terrell condemned people chants like "Free Palestine" or "From the River to the Sea" as calling for hate and the destruction of an entire people.
The issue is not without its complications, though. Israel killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in a counter attack to the start of the Israel-Hamas War on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
"Speaking with one of my friends, he's had over 200 family members brutally murdered in Gaza over the past year... Hearing his experience reminds me of my ancestors' experience in concentration camps," a Jewish supporter of Colorado Palestine Coalition Alex Borenstein said last year.
A major part of negotiations to end the Israel-Hamas War is a proposal to resettle Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians. Another one of the primary demands is for Hamas to release the remaining hostages the group took as part of the surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas said it will only do so in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
"As a Palestinian community, we have all been steadfast; strong in our ability to say Palestinian lives matter. And the Palestinian community has a right to exist," Director of Colorado's Palestinian Club Reema Wahdan said.
Terrell, however, highlighted that the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel starting the war killed at least one Holocaust survivor.
"Holocaust survivors should not spend the final chapter of their lives experiencing or witnessing this hatred again. We must fight this terror together," Terrell said.
The Israel-Hamas War is only the most recent conflict over control of the region. Israel seized control of Gaza from Egypt during the 1967 Mideast war. A Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation then erupted in Gaza in December 1987.
"We've stood steadfast in saying, peace is the end resolution and lives lost on either side is not acceptable," Wahdan said.
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