An international Zionist youth movement urged American Jews to arm themselves and called on President Donald Trump on Friday to expedite the deportation of undocumented immigrants it labeled “ticking time bombs” in response to recent antisemitic attacks in Washington, DC, and Boulder.
According to a Betar Worldwide press release issued Friday from Boulder, CEO Jon Mantell and vice chairman of Betar worldwide Ronn Torossian—an American PR executive and pro-Israel activist—said, “It’s time for Jews to arm themselves—nobody is coming to save us. Every Jew a 22, stay alive with a 45.” They warned that recent attacks could have ended differently had a Jewish bystander returned fire.
On June 1, in Boulder, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly threw Molotov cocktails and deployed a makeshift flamethrower at participants of a weekly solidarity walk for Israeli hostages, injuring 13 people—among them an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor—and wounding the suspect himself. Two victims remained hospitalized as of June 2. Both the FBI and Boulder police treated the incident as an antisemitic terror attack.
On May 21, a gunman opened fire outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., killing Israeli embassy employees Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, after shouting “Free, free Palestine!” Authorities classified the shooting as antisemitic terrorism amid a broader surge of violence targeting Jews in the United States.
Founded in 1923 by Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky in Riga, Latvia, Betar long championed Jewish self-defense and nationalist ideals.
Betar was blacklisted by the ADL for alleged Islamaphobia and ties to Kahanism
Mantell said Betar US had submitted a list of hundreds of alleged pro-Hamas agitators to the White House months ago, yet only a handful have entered formal deportation proceedings. In February, Betar US launched “Operation Wrath of Zion,” a campaign exposing pro-Palestinian student activists; the Anti-Defamation League subsequently blacklisted Betar for alleged Islamophobia and ties to Kahanism.
President Trump condemned the Washington shooting on Truth Social and reiterated a hard-line stance on immigration, while Colorado Governor Jared Polis labeled the Boulder assault “unacceptable” and pledged support for Jewish communities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Boulder attack “fueled by blood libels against the Jewish state” and expressed confidence in US authorities to pursue justice.
As antisemitic violence continued to rise, Betar US vowed to press the Trump administration until all alleged “ticking time bombs” were deported and maintained that only a well-armed Jewish community could deter future attacks.