Steven Beer

Sixteen months ago, a new friend invited me to join a group of Jewish community members who gathered every Sunday morning in a local park to show solidarity with the hostages taken by Hamas. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but that Sunday, I showed up. What I found was both humbling and unforgettable. There were around 50 people, mothers, fathers, grandparents, kids, even dogs, walking quietly and respectfully through the park. Some carried small Israeli flags, barely visible. No slogans. No chants. No aggression. Just a silent, peaceful walk. They were part of something called Walk for Their Lives, a growing, global movement of people who gather each week not to protest, not to provoke, but simply to walk. To walk for the hostages. To walk for peace. To walk in memory and in hope. Though I only joined them in person that one Sunday, I remained in their group chat. Every week, I saw updates. Photos from walks in different cities, people walking in rain, snow, heat. Never once missing a week. Never once lashing out in hate. Never once breaking from their quiet, dignified resolve. In all that time, I never saw a single word of hate toward Palestinians, or toward the violent Palestine protesters . No rage. No bitterness. Just a deep, aching solidarity with innocent lives held in captivity, and a commitment to walk for them. Today, that same group was attacked in Boulder, Colorado. The pro-Palestine mob will say they were provocative, that they brought it on themselves. Don’t believe it. I’ve seen their hearts. I’ve read their words. I’ve watched their walks. This group, and the many like it around the world, have done nothing but stand in peaceful, moral clarity, for human life, for the hostages, for peace. The attack in Boulder isn’t just an assault on a group of walkers. It’s an assault on the idea that Jews are allowed to grieve, to remember, to hope, for themselves, and for those still trapped in the hands of terrorists. If you ever needed proof that this conflict isn’t just about borders but about whether Jews have the right to exist with dignity, look no further than a park in Boulder.