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Palestinian Rights Advocates Condemn Boulder Attack on Vigil for Hostages
"I don't want to see a single person saying this was warranted by the carnage in Gaza, that this was for Palestinians," said congressional candidate Kat Abuhazaleh. "I am Palestinian and I do not want senseless acts of terror committed in my name."
Jun 02, 2025
Two Palestinian American politicians were among those who condemned Sunday's attack on people attending a vigil in Boulder, Colorado for Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas—with Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman saying she was "appalled that anyone would do this in our name."
"Committing violence makes everyone less safe and makes peace impossible," said Romman. "Those who do must be held accountable. Praying for the victims and their loved ones."
Her comments came after a suspect identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly threw a "makeshift flamethrower" using two bottles into a crowd of people who were taking part in a "Run for Their Lives" event in honor of people who were kidnapped by Hamas in October 2023.
At least two people were flown to a burn unit in Denver for serious injuries; eight people in all were hurt in the attack.
Mark D. Michalek, a special agent in the FBI's Denver field office, said Soliman yelled, "Free Palestine" during the attack, echoing the suspect in the killing of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, D.C. last month. There was no indication that Soliman was linked to any particular group, Michalek said.
Soliman was taken into custody on Sunday.
Romman condemned the "cruelty and dehumanization" that appear to have led to attacks on individuals by suspects who have been motivated by anger at the Israeli government, which began bombarding Gaza in retaliation for Hamas' attack in 2023.
Israeli forces have killed more than 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, waging attacks on schools, shelters, and hospitals while claiming to target Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has also imposed a total blockade on Gaza since March—pushing the population towards famine—and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday opened fire on hundreds of Palestinians who were attempting to retrieve food at a distribution center set up by an Israel- and U.S.-backed company.
"Enough with the cruelty and dehumanization," said Romman. "Equating the Jewish community with the Israeli government fuels antisemitism further enabling extremism, conspiracy theories, and violence."
Critics have warned that the Israeli government has consistently conflated Judaism with Zionism and its actions in Gaza. In recent days officials have accused media outlets and critics of "blood libel"—a reference to ancient false allegations of ritual murder by Jewish people—for reporting on and condemning Israel's starvation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the IDF's attacks.
Yonah Lieberman, co-founder of the Jewish-led Palestinian rights group IfNotNow, said that while the "horrific" attack in Boulder was "a random act by an individual" and was "not representative of any movement," the killing of Palestinians in Gaza is the "result of official policy by the Israeli government."
Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive candidate for the U.S. House in Illinois' 9th District, warned that "senseless, antisemitic attacks do not help Palestinians, Jews, or Israelis."
"I don't want to see a single person saying this was warranted by the carnage in Gaza, that this was for Palestinians. I am Palestinian and I do not want senseless acts of terror committed in my name... Equating Jewish people with Israel's far-right government inevitably leads to antisemitism. It leads to innocent people getting hurt, more Jewish organizations being targeted, and Netanyahu preying on fear."
"My heart breaks every single day when I see what is happening in Gaza," she added. "I feel helpless. I know many of you do too. But when people enact violence in our name, it makes everyone less safe and it makes peace less likely."
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Jewish Groups Denounce Latest 'Cynical' GOP Hearing Equating Criticism of Israel With Antisemitism
"Israel is a nation state, not a Jewish person," said Rabbis for Cease-Fire. "Criticism of Israel's genocidal assault is not equivalent to antisemitism."
Mar 27, 2025
Following the Republican Party's latest hearing on antisemitism on college campuses—part of a campaign in which discrimination against Jewish people has been conflated with calls for Palestinian liberation and opposition to Israel's U.S.-backed killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza—the rights organization Rabbis for Cease-Fire on Thursday said it rejected "the basic premises" of the hearing.
The hearing held by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday, titled "Antisemitic Disruptions on Campus: Ensuring Safe Learning Environments for All Students," was part of an effort to "instrumentalize concern for Jewish safety to shield Israel from accountability," said the group.
The committee scheduled the hearing as supporters of Palestinian rights and the First Amendment have grown increasingly alarmed by the Trump administration's abductions, via Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), of several students who have participated in Palestinian rights protests and spoken out against the U.S. government's support for Israel's assault on Gaza and the West Bank.
But while more than 1,400 academics signed onto an academic boycott of Columbia University over its refusal to stand up to the Trump administration and defend students who have exercised their First Amendment rights, warning that the GOP's agenda and the school's actions "endanger all students, staff, and faculty," Republicans on the committee spoke only about rising antisemitism on college campuses.
Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said that "antisemitic incidents on college campuses were up almost 500% between 2023 and 2024, totaling 1,200 reports."
Cassidy cited the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which compiles reports on what it views as campus antisemitism, including expressions of hostility toward Jewish people—but also calls for divestment from Israel and the presence of "anti-Zionist groups" who oppose Israel's policies in Palestine.
While the ADL has loudly condemned pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses—some of which have been led by Jewish students—it dismissed outcry over what appeared to be a Nazi salute displayed by far-right billionaire Elon Musk, an ally of President Donald Trump, at an inauguration event in January.
Rabbis for Cease-Fire said Thursday that "repression of political dissent regarding U.S. involvement in the genocidal assault of
Palestinians is not in the best interest of Jews and has nothing to do with Jewish safety."
"To suggest it does actually threatens Jews by taking away civil rights and liberties in our name," said the group.
The group also clarified that by definition, Trump's efforts to rid college campuses of students who speak out against Israel's U.S.-backed military operation is not confronting antisemitism.
"Antisemitism is a bias against or hostility toward Jewish people because they are Jewish, regardless of nationality," said Rabbis for Cease-Fire. "Israel is a nation state, not a Jewish person. Criticism of actions carried out by the state of Israel is a political position and Israel, like every state, must be criticized for illegal and unjust actions, and held to account for war crimes. Criticism of Israel's genocidal assault is not equivalent to antisemitism."
The group added that the vast majority of pro-Palestinian campus protests "were not and are not antisemitic: they are focused on holding Israel and the United States accountable for collaborating on a brutal 18-month assault on Palestinians in Gaza that has claimed over 60,000 lives and destroyed schools, mosques, hospitals, libraries, and tens of thousands of homes."
The hearing was held a day after thousands of Boston-area residents assembled in Somerville, Massachusetts to speak out against ICE's abduction of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student and visa holder who was reportedly targeted for writing an op-ed criticizing the school's response to a call for divestment from Israel.
"Jewish people's fear of antisemitism is being exploited to to carry out a broad attack on higher education and free speech," said the rabbis. "This administration's policies are designed by far-right Christian nationalists and are antisemitic themselves. These hearings falsely proclaim that their goal is 'safe learning environments for all students.' In fact, this is actually making learning environments unsafe through universities' draconian rules prohibiting free speech and assembly that result in suspension and expulsion of students, and their use of local police to control and arrest students."
"These hearings are a wholesale attack on higher education as a primary location of the democratic values of the free speech, open dialogue, and political dissent that Trump and the Republicans want to destroy," the group added.
Rabbis for Cease-Fire was joined by other Jewish-led groups in denouncing what Bend the Arc: Jewish Action called "another cynical antisemitism hearing."
"This is Trump's cronies using the guise of caring about Jews to further its agenda of deporting student activists and instilling fear to silence political dissent," said Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Miller credited Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) with using the hearing to condemn Trump's amplification and defense of antisemitism from the far-right, such as in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 and his association with Musk.
But the hearing was part of a growing body of evidence that "Trump and his cronies do not care about Jews or Jewish safety," said Miller. "Their attacks on student activists are part of an authoritarian power grab and an attempt to silence the movement for Palestinian rights. We must stand together and fight back against fascism."
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US House Urged to Stop Bill Enabling Trump to Attack Nonprofits
"The bill could usher in repression on a massive scale," one critic warned.
Nov 11, 2024
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote soon on legislation that would further empower President-elect Donald Trump, who won a new term last week after fear-mongering about the so-called "enemy from within" and vowing to "root out" people he described as "radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country."
Nonprofits and rights advocates are sounding the alarm about H.R. 9495, or the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. The bill would provide tax relief for U.S. nationals and their spouses who are unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad but also includes legislation to terminate the tax-exempt status of "terrorist-supporting" groups.
A version of the section targeting groups accused of backing terrorism previously passed the House but stalled in the Democrat-held Senate. As legal scholar Maryam Jamshidi explained on social media Monday, "The cynical move is intended to coerce Congress to pass the 501(c)(3) bill because no one wants to be seen as opposing tax breaks for U.S. hostages/prisoners abroad."
While the bill has long been on the radar of organizations like the ACLU—which led a diverse coalition that spoke out against it in September—the recent election results, Trump's campaign promises, and the upcoming vote are sparking fresh concerns.
"As soon as tomorrow, the House will vote on a bill that would give the incoming Trump administration a new tool they could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish groups that disagree with them," the ACLU said on social media Monday. "This broad, vague bill is an open invitation for abuse. Tell your representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495."
The ACLU highlighted reporting by The Intercept, which on Sunday detailed how the legislation would work:
Under the bill, the Treasury secretary would issue notice to a group of intent to designate it as a "terrorist-supporting organization." Once notified, an organization would have the right to appeal within 90 days, after which it would be stripped of its 501(c)(3) status, named for the statute that confers tax exemptions on recognized nonprofit groups.
The law would not require officials to explain the reason for designating a group, nor does it require the Treasury Department to provide evidence.
"It basically empowers the Treasury secretary to target any group it wants to call them a terror supporter and block their ability to be a nonprofit," said Ryan Costello, policy director at the National Iranian American Council Action, which opposes the law. "So that would essentially kill any nonprofit's ability to function. They couldn't get banks to service them, they won't be able to get donations, and there'd be a black mark on the organization, even if it cleared its name."
The bill is widely seen as an attempt to silence fierce critics of U.S. support for Israel's ongoing slaughter and starvation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has led to a genocide case against the Israeli government at the International Court of Justice. However, Costello warned that "the danger is much broader than just groups that work on foreign policy."
"It could target major liberal funders who support Palestinian solidarity and peace groups who engage in protest. But it could also theoretically be used to target pro-choice groups, and I could see it being used against environmental groups," he said. "It really would be at the discretion of the Trump administration as to who they target, with very little recourse for the targeted organization."
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action similarly stressed on social media Monday that "this bill would grant Donald Trump unilateral power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing—without any explanation required."
"The House must vote no on H.R. 9495," Bend the Arc argued. "It is critical that we are able to organize and that we have a robust nonprofit sector that represents our needs and our interests to the government. This will be a necessary tool against the harms threatened by the second Trump presidency."
Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, said in a statement that "this bill should be a five-alarm fire for anyone who seeks to protect free speech, civil society, and democracy. This bill is part of a broader MAGA assault on the right to protest that begins with attacks on Palestinian rights groups, and is aimed at outlawing the social justice movements that fight for progressive change. This is part of a well-worn authoritarian playbook to dismantle fundamental freedoms."
Describing the legislation as "terrifying," Ajam Media Collective editor Alex Shams said Monday that "the bill could usher in repression on a massive scale."
The threat extends to media organizations like Common Dreams. Freedom of the Press Foundation—whose director of advocacy, Seth Stern, wrote about the legislation for The Intercept in May—declared Monday that "this bill is a serious threat to nonprofit news outlets and Trump is sure to abuse these powers if given the chance."
"The threat is far more dire in light of the election," the foundation added. "Tell your representative to stop H.R. 9495 today."
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