[Israel flag. Photo Credit to Pixabay]

On Sunday, June 1, 45-year-old Mohamed Sobry Soliman launched a makeshift flamethrower into a peaceful march aimed at raising awareness for Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The attack injured eight people and alarmed communities across the country.

Eyewitnesses reported that Soliman shouted, “Free Palestine” and “End Zionist!” while throwing multiple Molotov cocktails at participants.

The victims, aged between 55 and 88, were mostly affiliated with Run for Their Lives, a volunteer group that organizes running and walking events to advocate for the safe return of Israelis  currently being held in Gaza.

Soliman, an Egyptian national reportedly residing illegally in Colorado Springs after overstaying his visa, was taken into custody at the scene.

Authorities have charged him with multiple felony counts and a federal hate crime.

In custody, Soliman allegedly told investigators that “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” 

He admitted to planning and carrying out the attack and stated that he would do it again.

The incident occurred less than two weeks after another violent act targeting Israelis.

On May 22, a man fatally shot two staff members of the Israeli Embassy outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

The victims, Yaron Lischinksy and Sarah Milgrim, were a couple who were about to be newly engaged. 

The suspected shooter, 31-year-old Chicago-born Elias Rodriguez, was apprehended by local police. 

As officers approached, Rodriguez reportedly stated, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” 

While in custody, he chanted “Free Palestine” and waved a red keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern headdress that has come to symbolize solidarity with the Palestinian cause. 

These back-to-back incidents have raised concerns about the increase in antisemitic violence within the United States.

Most advocacy groups on both sides swiftly condemned the attacks. 

Outspoken Palestine supporter and politician Ilhad Omar stated that she was “appalled” and that “violence should have no place in our country.” 

Ronald Lauder, World Jewish Congress President, praised Milgrim and Lischinsky for “dedicating their lives to building bridges between people and communities, rather than walls.”

He added, “this act of terror will not drive us (Jews) into the shadows. We will not hide our faces or our symbols. We will live openly and proudly, as a courageous people.”

However, several prominent figures with more extremist views expressed their support for the violence. 

Guy Christensen, a teenage anti-Israel TikTok influencer, uploaded a video saying,“I do not condemn the elimination of the Zionist officials who worked at the Israeli Embassy late last night.”  

Writer and activist Susan Abulhawa also made controversial comments, calling  the victims “genocide cheerleaders” and expressing her surprise that such an incident “had not happened earlier.”

These acts of violence mark a drastic rise in antisemitic incidents amidst the ongoing Israel-Palestine war, which began when Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group, invaded southern Israel in 2023, sparking a violent and bloody war. 

As of the time this article was written, nearly 50,000 Palestinians had been reported killed by Israeli military forces. 

In recent weeks, dozens of starving citizens were shot while approaching aid distribution points in desperate attempts to obtain food. 

These developments continue to resonate far beyond the Middle East, stirring unrest and inflaming political tensions within the United States and abroad.