COLORADO — While 12 victims recover from what investigators are calling a hate crime against pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, local Jewish leaders nearly 100 miles away in Colorado Springs say they're saddened for their community.
“I think violence is an inappropriate approach to treating a problem that exists," said David Greenberg, who co-founded The Greenberg Center for Learning and Tolerance with his wife, Paulette Greenberg.
The two started the organization in 2003 after receiving the Temple Shalom Humanitarian Award. The center is meant to promote respectful conversations between people of all cultures to lead to more learning, understanding, and acceptance. Paulette and David said hearing about the attack in Boulder was shocking.
“I was just sort of shocked and couldn't believe it, and then I'm thinking, that's why I sort of hate to go any place that there are crowds or people. You don't know what somebody's going to do," said Paulette.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, of Colorado Springs, is accused of injuring and burning a group of people in Boulder with Molotov cocktails on Sunday while yelling "Free Palestine." Federal court documents said the suspect had been planning the attack for a year. Investigators said the man injured 12 people who were part of a pro-Israel demonstration at the Pearl Street Mall. Court documents said witnesses saw him using a commercial weed sprayer as a makeshift blowtorch.
The Greenbergs said their mission at The Greenberg Center still stands the same: working toward understanding and acceptance between people who come from different backgrounds.
The Islamic Society of Colorado Springs released the following statement on Monday regarding the Boulder attack:
"We at the Islamic Society of Colorado Springs are heartbroken by the tragic attack that occurred yesterday in Boulder, Colorado. Acts of hatred and violence have no place in Islam. Our faith teaches us to uphold justice, show compassion, and honor the sanctity of every human life. We stand firmly against all forms of extremism and violence, and we condemn yesterday's attack in the strongest possible terms.
In times of tragedy, we are called to respond with empathy, kindness, and a shared commitment to peace. We pray for unity and understanding in our society, and we pledge to continue working alongside people of all faiths and backgrounds to build a more compassionate and just world.
May Allah (SWT) guide us all to be sources of peace, mercy, and healing in our communities."
News5 also spoke with Father John Pawlikowski, one of the original board members of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. He said antisemitism is a threat not just to the Jewish community but to the whole world.
“If hatred gets lodged into our culture, it’s really hard to get rid of it. Today it may be the Jews and tomorrow it's going to be someone else," said Pawlikowski.
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