Hundreds turn out for hostage walk in Boulder week after attack

Several hundred people turn out in Boulder, Colorado, for a weekly walk in support of hostages held in Gaza that typically draws only a couple dozen. Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper and other dignitaries are among the participants.

Demonstrators hold signs that read “End Jew Hatred” and hand out stickers stamped with “611,” representing the 611 days since the first Israeli hostages were taken by Hamas.

On a stage near the site of the attack, hundreds gather to listen to speakers and songs. Vendors sell traditional Jewish and Israeli cuisine. In tents marked “Hostage Square,” rows of chairs sit empty save for photos of the hostages and the exhortation “Bring them home now!”

Moshe Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran is among the hostages, thanks local demonstrators for their bravery in advocating for his family. He describes Miran as a gentle and loving gardener, husband and father to two young children.

The event takes place as part of a Jewish cultural festival, which was reimagined this year to highlight the stories of Israeli hostages after a man who yelled “Free Palestine” threw Molotov cocktails at marchers a week ago, injuring 15 people.

In pre-recorded videos, hostages’ families thank festivalgoers. One of Miran’s children says in Hebrew, “When daddy comes back from Gaza, he’ll take me to kindergarten.”

“Just seeing them speaking to us, here, with all they’re going through, their supporting us is kind of mind blowing,” says Merav Tsubely, an Israeli-American who came to the festival from a city north of Boulder. “It just reminds us how connected we all are.”

The Boulder Police Department and the FBI coordinated to provide increased security at the festival as well as local synagogues and the Boulder Jewish Community Center. Officers guard the event’s entrances, and police Chief Stephen Redfearn said some plainclothes officers would be present in the crowd. On a rooftop near the stage, three hold rifles and use binoculars to monitor the crowd as drones buzzed overhead.

Matan Gold-Edelstein’s father was present last weekend and helped douse the fire that burned an older woman. Gold-Edelstein, a 19-year-old college student, says the well-attended festival was a great show of humanity, regardless of religion or politics.

“We’re not here to be in support of a war,” he says. “We’re here in support of our religion, in support of our people and in support of the innocent people who are still being held hostage.”