BOULDER, Colo. — Sunday’s firebombing of a peaceful walk calling for the release of Israeli hostages is the result of “a normalization of hate” in the U.S. and in Colorado, an Anti-Defamation League spokeswoman told Denver7 Monday morning.
Susan Rona, the Mountain States Regional Director for the ADL, sat down with Denver7 anchors Anusha Roy and Dan Grossman with reaction to the attack, which injured 12 people, including a Holocaust survivor.
- JEWISHcolorado has set up a fund to help those who were injured in Sunday's attack. If you'd like to donate, follow this link.
The suspect in that attack, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was arrested shortly thereafter and on Monday was charged with a federal hate crime in what officials and lawmakers have called a targeted antisemitic attack.
Recently published ADL data shows Colorado ranked ninth nationally in antisemitic incidents in 2024. The organization documented 279 incidents, marking a 41% spike year over year. The national average increase was 5% in the same period.
- Below is a map of 2024 antisemitic incidents in Colorado. Locations are broken down by city — locations are not exact.
“Behind every number is a person, just like the people who were firebombed here yesterday,” Rona said. “It's really important to remember that now.”
- Watch the full interview with Susan Rona in the video player below:
Antisemitic violence has been on the rise in the U.S. for a decade, according to the ADL, but particularly since the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023 that launched the war in Gaza.
Rona said the discourse surrounding the war has turned hateful.
“There's been a normalization of hate,” she said. “I really am a huge believer in free speech is a foundational principle of the United States, but free speech has turned into hate speech, which has now incited violence, and there's been a normalization of hatred towards Jews in this speech.
“If we don't start speaking up and saying something, saying, ‘That's not okay in my community,’ we're going to see more violence. We all need to come together and really speak up when we hear hate in our community.”
Denver7’s Anusha Roy asked Rona for any advice she might have for how to support neighbors and members of the Jewish community.
“Personally, I had so many of my non-Jewish friends [and] colleagues reach out to check on me and just see how I was doing. That meant so much to me and to everyone who's out there,” she said. “Please check on your Jewish friends and neighbors.”
“We are not okay. We are hurting as a community, and we need the community's support.”