An 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, who was among a dozen people injured in what authorities are calling a hate-fueled terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, is sending a message to the rest of America: “We are better than this.”
Barbara Steinmetz, who has already lived through the horrors of Nazi Germany, never imagined she’d experience a violent, antisemitic attack on American soil — not at her age, and not while peacefully standing up for Israeli hostages. Yet on Sunday, that’s exactly what happened.
According to authorities, a man armed with a makeshift flamethrower attacked a group of pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder. The group — part of an organization called Run for Their Lives — had gathered to call for the release of hostages still being held by Hamas terrorists following the brutal October 7 massacre in Israel.
Barbara was there, peacefully holding her sign, when flames suddenly erupted around her.
“We’re Americans. We are better than this,” Steinmetz told NBC News afterward. “That’s what I want them to know. That they be kind and decent human beings.”
Even after surviving the Holocaust as a child, this elderly woman didn’t use her trauma to politicize the moment. Instead, she brought it back to a simple, human message. But she was also clearly shaken.
“It has nothing to do with the Holocaust,” she said. “It has to do with a human being that wants to burn other people.”
Then she asked the question that so many Americans are also asking — especially after seeing what’s happening in their own neighborhoods:
“It’s about what the hell is going on in our country. What the hell is going on?”
The alleged attacker has been identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a foreign national who overstayed his visa. Authorities have charged him with attempted murder, hate crimes, and more — after he targeted Jewish Americans and Israel supporters with a homemade flamethrower.
And yes — he shouted “Free Palestine” as he attacked.
Soliman, according to officials, should never have been in the country to begin with. His visa had expired. But thanks to lax immigration enforcement and what many call President Biden’s “Open Borders” policy, Soliman was still here. And now, innocent Americans — including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor — are paying the price.
President Donald Trump wasted no time addressing the attack. On Truth Social, he blasted the Biden administration’s immigration failures and made it clear how things would be handled under his leadership.
“He came in through Biden’s ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly,” Trump wrote of Soliman. “He must go out under ‘TRUMP’ Policy.”
“Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law,” Trump continued. “This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland.”
“My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also responded firmly, promising swift justice:
“All terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump Administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you.”
In light of yesterday’s horrific attack, all terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump Administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you.
On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that Soliman’s wife and children have been detained by immigration officials and are being held for further investigation.
This wasn’t an isolated event. Just last month, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez — a Chicago native — was arrested after murdering two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C.
Authorities also confirmed that, like the Boulder attacker, Rodriguez yelled “Free Palestine” as he opened fire.
These attacks follow an alarming rise in antisemitism in the West, which exploded after Hamas launched its barbaric assault on Israel on October 7, 2023 — killing over 1,200 civilians, including women and children, and taking hundreds of hostages.
Since then, antisemitic rhetoric has flooded college campuses, protests, and even major cities — much of it driven by Hamas sympathizers who hide their weapons among civilians in schools and hospitals, turning any Israeli response into a photo-op for international outrage.
While Israel takes extreme precautions to avoid civilian casualties — far more than most other militaries — Hamas has made clear its strategy is to provoke global backlash against the Jewish state by weaponizing the suffering of its own people.
And sadly, it’s working. Western media outlets, progressive activists, and even some lawmakers have amplified anti-Israel propaganda, fueling hatred that’s now spilling over into real-life violence against American Jews.
The attack on Barbara Steinmetz isn’t just a tragedy — it’s a warning. America is not immune to the spread of radicalism and antisemitism, especially when our borders are wide open and our leaders are more focused on political optics than public safety.
Let Barbara’s words remind us all:
“We are better than this.”
The question is — will our leaders act before more innocent Americans are harmed?
