Podcast Summary: Tangle – "The Attack in Boulder, Colorado"

Episode Information:

• Title: The Attack in Boulder, Colorado
• Host: Isaac Saul
• Release Date: June 3, 2025
• Description: Independent, non-partisan political news featuring diverse viewpoints and insightful interviews.

Introduction

In this episode of Tangle, host Isaac Saul delves into the harrowing attack that occurred in Boulder, Colorado, targeting members of a Jewish community group advocating for the release of hostages in Israel. Saul provides a comprehensive breakdown of the incident, incorporating perspectives from both the political right and left before offering his personal analysis.

Overview of the Boulder Attack

[05:05] John Law begins by detailing the events of the attack:

"In Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday, a man attacked members of a Jewish community group advocating for the release of hostages in Gaza. The suspect, identified as Mohammed Sabri Suleiman, reportedly used a makeshift flamethrower and threw incendiary devices into the crowd, injuring 12 people."

Suleiman, an Egyptian national who overstayed his visa, was apprehended and is facing multiple charges, including hate crimes and terrorism. The attack is being investigated as a targeted terror incident by FBI Director Kash Patel.

Reactions from the Political Right

[10:00] John Law summarizes the right-wing perspective, highlighting condemnation of the attack while linking it to broader issues:

"The right views the attack as a natural consequence of the antisemitism imbued in the anti-Israel movement. Some say the attack also highlights the failures of Biden's immigration policies."

Prominent right-leaning voices, such as Charles Fane Lehman from City Journal, argue that American anti-Israel rhetoric has radicalized individuals, creating an environment conducive to such violence. Lehman states:

"The American anti Israel movement has built the intellectual scaffolding for and in many cases all but invited the violence now playing out in places like Boulder."

Additionally, Andrew Arthur from the New York Post criticizes the Biden administration's immigration policies, asserting that overstaying visas without proper oversight contributes to such dangerous incidents:

"Soliman's arrest shows why border czar Tom Holman can't just focus on criminal illegal aliens."

Reactions from the Political Left

Conversely, [10:00] John Law presents the left-wing response, which condemns the attack but resists attributing blame to immigration policies. Instead, the left emphasizes shared responsibility for rising antisemitism and the need for comprehensive solutions:

"Anti Semitism does not respect national borders... somehow stopping all illegal immigration would not end antisemitism in America."

Emily Tamkin from Forward magazine expresses concern over the cyclical nature of antisemitic violence:

"The cycle works like some act of antisemitism or violence against Jews is carried out. Some parties then use it as a pretense... to justify their own preferred policy positions."

Julia Ham from The Atlantic underscores the pure hate motivation behind such attacks, distancing them from political discourse:

"These homicidal hate crimes have no justification... Pervasive antisemitism is what enables attackers to believe that they are striking back at Israel by trying to kill any Jew anywhere."

Host's Analysis and Take

[19:43] Isaac Saul offers a personal and analytical perspective on the events and the surrounding discourse:

"These incidents are starting to become a pattern... One positively assured way to produce more Zionism, more necessity for Israel, and more belief in the cause is to make a place like the United States less safe."

Saul reflects on his own struggles with Zionism, clarifying that his critiques are not anti-Israel but aim to address the underlying issues that fuel such violence. He highlights the troubling reactions from certain pro-Palestinian activists who seemingly condone violence against Jews:

"The implication that attacking Jews or Israelis in the US is an appropriate response to barbarism by the Israeli government to be completely and utterly deranged."

He further critiques the conflation of anti-Zionism with legitimate political discourse, arguing that this blurs the lines and inadvertently justifies violent retaliations:

"This is an entirely circular blame game that centralizes the observers as main characters and completely takes agency away from bad actors truly actually doing the thing."

Saul emphasizes personal responsibility, drawing a clear line between criticizing policies and justifying violence:

"I blame the man with the flamethrower. I don't blame the Israeli government for the murder of two Israeli embassy workers."

Additional Stories and Statistics

[29:22] John Law shares under-the-radar news, including an investigation into former President Joe Biden's pardons, highlighting potential legal and ethical concerns. He provides relevant statistics to contextualize the attack:

• Victims' Age Range: 52 to 88
• Terrorist Plots Against Jews in the US since January 2020: 16
• Nonimmigrant Admissions in Fiscal Year 2022: 96.8 million
• Estimated Overstay Events in Fiscal Year 2022: 853,955
• Overstay Rate for Nonimmigrants from Egypt: 7.94%

Final Thoughts

In his concluding remarks, Isaac Saul reiterates the escalating pattern of antisemitic violence and the urgent need to address both ideological rhetoric and practical policies to prevent further tragedies. He underscores the fragile safety of Jewish communities in America and the interconnectedness of global and local factors contributing to such attacks.

Notable Quotes

• John Law [05:05]: "Soliman confessed to the attack after he was taken into custody and told police he would do it again, expressing a desire to kill all Zionist people."
• Charles Fane Lehman [10:00]: "Lighting humans on fire to advance your political goals is what an intifada looks like."
• Emily Tamkin [10:00]: "The cycle works like some act of antisemitism or violence against Jews is carried out."
• Isaac Saul [19:43]: "This is the nightmare realized and the response has been more than disheartening."

Closing Remarks: Isaac Saul concludes the episode by highlighting the importance of understanding the roots of such violence and the roles both rhetoric and policy play in either mitigating or exacerbating these tensions. He calls for a balanced approach that condemns hate unequivocally while addressing the systemic issues that allow such extremism to flourish.

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