Events in Boulder, Colo., read like a scene from a Republican campaign speech: An illegal immigrant allowed into the country by the Biden administration attacks a peaceful pro-Israel gathering, setting elderly people on fire while shouting “Free Palestine” and “End Zionists!”
The horrific attack combines two problematic threads in Democratic Party politics: Opposition to increased immigration enforcement and support for “From the River to the Sea” pro-Palestinian protests.
Sunday’s assault by 45-year-old Egyptian Mohamed Sabry Soliman is the third high-profile antisemitic attack since Passover in mid-April. That’s when a would-be arsonist attempted to burn down the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept upstairs.
On May 21, the shooter who killed two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum shouted, “Free Palestine.”
And these events occur against a background of new figures from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) showing the number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. hit a record in 2024. Their audit also found reports of antisemitic incidents rose 51 percent in the Granite State last year, the highest rate of increase in New England.
But Democrats show no sign of being chastened by their party’s connection to the ideology feeding the violence, or to the immigration policy that has once again resulted in violence.
In Massachusetts, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials announced Monday the arrests of more than 1,500 illegal aliens during May. In response, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley held what she dubbed a “Hands Off Our Immigrant Neighbors” event.
In New Hampshire, protesters gathered at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport last weekend to urge participation in a national boycott of Avelo Airlines, which flies routes out of the facility. They are outraged that Avelo has a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate deportation flights.
“Boycott Evil Avelo; Don’t fly deportation airlines!” one protest sign read.
New Hampshire’s elected Democrats, such as U.S. Reps. Maggie Goodlander and Chris Pappas have appeared at State House rallies where “Free Palestine” chants could be heard. But no elected Granite State Democrat has denounced the ideology behind the chants or publicly connected it to the series of violent events.
Instead, in Massachusetts on Monday, Pressley accused President Donald Trump and ICE of “terrorizing our communities” and carrying out a “cruel, unlawful mass deportation agenda.”
Days earlier, the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified “sanctuary city” jurisdictions across the country that maintain ordinances preventing local law enforcement from working with ICE and other agencies to track down individuals who entered the U.S. illegally.
Boston, a prime target for ICE enforcement, is showing no signs of changing its policy under Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu.
“We follow our city’s TRUST Act, we follow state law, and we do in fact work every day with the federal government on issues when there’s a clear criminal situation,” Wu told NBC 10 on Friday.
In New Hampshire, DHS identified Hanover and Lebanon as “sanctuary cities,” and last month, GOP Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed into law legislation banning such policies.
Granite State Democrats, however, have insisted the jurisdictions “don’t exist” and remained unified in both the House and Senate in unanimously opposing any crackdown on illegal immigration.
Support for illegal immigration and Hamas-led Palestine has dogged Democrats since the last election cycle.
Dan Turrentine, a Democratic strategist and cohost of “The Morning Meeting” with journalist Mark Halperin and former White House spokesman Sean Spicer, said Monday the two issues “still vex the party.”
Halperin said he’s heard from Democrats who say “if we don’t get ahead of this, we are morons. We cannot be on the wrong side of denouncing this man’s presence in the United States.”
Turrentine agreed.
“One hundred percent,” the Democrat responded.
Meanwhile, court documents allege Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” while carrying out his attack, which ultimately wounded 12, including a Holocaust survivor.
“He (Soliman) stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” the federal arrest affidavit states. “Soliman stated he would do it (conduct an attack) again.”
