Mordechai Brafman pro Israeli fanatic shoots at 2 Jewish men he confused for Palestinians in Miami as he now faces attempted murder charges. Victims have since decried the incident as ‘anti-semitic.’
Define cognitive dissonance? A Jewish man is alleged to have riddled a car with bullets in Miami Beach after spotting who he believed to be ‘two Palestinians‘ in it — only for the victims to be identified as a father and son visiting from Israel, cops said.
Mordechai Brafman, a 27-year-old plumber hailing from Florida, allegedly fired two 17 shots at the Hyundai around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, wounding the two Israeli Jews inside it before driving off and shortly after arrested, WSVN-TV News reported.
Brafman now faces attempted-murder charges the outlet reported.
Florida Jewish man shoots at Israeli tourists 17 times he believed to be Palestinians
‘It should be noted that while in custody in our interview room, the defendant spontaneously stated that while he was driving his truck he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both,’ police said, quoting the suspect as mistakenly thinking he had murdered the pair.
One of the victims was shot in his left shoulder, while the other suffered a graze wound to his arm, Ynet News reported.
‘The victims and the defendant do not know each other,’ cops told press.
Police said Brafman was driving on Alton Road just north of 48th Street when he saw the two victims and made a U-turn, pulled up to the car and started shooting.
‘It was a truck passing next to [us],’ the younger victim, identified by WPLG-TV as Ari Revay, told the station in Hebrew. ‘Boom, boom, boom, and he randomly started shooting.
‘He put the window down, the driver’s seat and just blasted,’ Revay said. ‘God, life is a gift.’
CAIR implores prosecutors to levy hate crime charges
Not immediately clear (or is it?) is what inspired Brafman to pursue the two men he believed to be Palestinians and fire into the vehicle they were driving?
Brafman previously made headlines when in 2023 he took umbrage when a local bagel shop was vandalized for flying an Israeli flag.
One of the shooting victims later reportedly posted a message on X falsely claiming the shooting was ‘anti-Semitic’, writing: ‘Death to the Arabs.’
CAIR’s Florida chapter has since called for federal hate crime charges against Brafman.
‘It is deeply ironic and telling that both the alleged pro-Israel perpetrator and the pro-Israel victim in the Miami Beach shooting reportedly hold racist anti-Palestinian views,’ said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. ‘This just the latest example of the hate targeting the Palestinian-American community in this country and Palestinians in their homeland. Policymakers in our nation should stop fomenting the anti-Palestinian hate that led to the genocide in Gaza and to hate crimes in America.’
Brafman remains held without bond at the Miami-Dade County Jail.
