Jewish Americans of all stripes reconsider safety protocols – but disagree on roots of recent violence

People lay flowers at the site of the attack on a rally calling for the release of hostages in Gaza outside a courthouse in Boulder, Colorado, on 2 June 2025. Photograph: Chet Strange/Getty Images

On the first night of Passover, it seemed like a one-off – an arson attack on the mansion of the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro. The arsonist, per police, took issue with Shapiro’s stance on Israel and Palestine.

Then, in late May, outside an American Jewish Committee young professionals’ event for young Jews in the DC area to meet young diplomats, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed; the shooter yelled, “Free Palestine.” Roughly a week and a half later, in Boulder, Colorado, a rally in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza was firebombed; the attacker also reportedly yelled, “Free Palestine.”