The University of Colorado, Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine faced widespread criticism after honoring a man convicted of a brutal attack on Jews in Boulder, Colorado. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in May 2026 for his role in the attack, which injured 13 people, including an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor, and killed a dog.
Soliman's attack occurred in June 2025, during a walk to raise awareness for Israeli hostages being held by Hamas. The suspect, who was in the country on an expired visa, was initially charged with 16 counts of attempted murder in the first degree.
One of Soliman's victims, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, suffered third-degree burns from the attack and later succumbed to her injuries after a three-week hospital battle. Despite his barbaric acts, the University of Colorado, Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine chose to honor Soliman, citing his willingness to sacrifice his liberty in attaining his objective.
The university's student organization, Boulder SJP, was criticized for its post, which was later removed and condemned by the university. The posting described Soliman's decision to hurl Molotov cocktails at participants in the Run for Their Lives walk as "the only sane response available to a rational human being." The organization also condemned the federal hate crime and terrorism charges filed against Soliman, calling them "the same legal mechanisms consistently deployed against Arabs and Muslims in the United States since 2001."
The university responded to the criticism, stating that it denounces antisemitism, Islamophobia, and violence in all forms. CU stripped Boulder SJP of its recognized student organization status in 2024 after the group failed to remedy policy violations following a protest at a campus career fair.
Despite this action, prominent Denver-based First Amendment attorney David Lane said that the university cannot do much else in response to Boulder SJP's posting. The incident highlights the rising anti-Semitism and hatred in the country, and the university's efforts to address these issues.
