Jewish Florida Man Shot Two Israelis He Mistook For Palestinians: Reports

A man arrested in Miami Beach on Saturday has been charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder.

According to an arrest report seen by NBC 6 South Florida, Mordechai Brafman, 27, opened fire on the victims’ vehicle 17 times. He told detectives in an interview that he “was driving his truck, saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both,” according to an arrest report cited by the outlet.

Newsweek has contacted the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Center both by email and phone for comment. Neither was immediately available each time Newsweek called.

What To Know

On Saturday, at around 9:30 p.m. local time, surveillance video captured Brafman’s car driving down Pine Road on Saturday, according to NBC 6, and caught him making a U-turn at 48th Street where the two victims were in a vehicle.

Per the outlet, Brafman, who has been described as Jewish by sources including the New York Post, drove past them and stopped directly in front of them. He then reportedly got out his car and opened fire on the two victims’ vehicle as it drove past him.

Both people in the vehicle were hit by the gunfire. One had a gunshot wound on their left shoulder, while the other had a graze wound on their left forearm, NBC 6 reported.

According to the local news channel WPLG, authorities said the shooting was unprovoked and the victims and Brafman did not know each other.

The identity of the victims, and whether they were Palestinian or not, has not been officially shared as of yet, but law enforcement sources said that they were visiting from Israel, the Miami Herald reported.

A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, by the news outlet The Palestine News Network allegedly showed a video of the victims. The caption claimed they were an Israeli father and son.

Some reports claimed the two victims told police they were victims of an antisemitic attack and that they took to social media to comment on the incident after being shot, which reportedly included them saying “Death to the Arabs.”

X user @KashifMD, who has more than 45,000 followers on the platform, shared a screenshot of a Facebook post, which he linked to the victims, although Newsweek has been unable to verify the legitimacy of the post or its connection to the Miami Beach victims.

The Facebook post shared by @KashifMD reads: “My father and I went through a murder attempt against anti-Semitic background. They tried to murder us in the heart of Miami but the creator of the world is with us so he didn’t go. I want to say thank you to everyone for their support and it is not taken for granted with israel Live. Death to the Arabs.”

Video footage posted on X by a WSVN reporter claimed to show one of the victims sitting in a hospital bed with a bandaged shoulder.

Dustin Tischler, Brafman’s attorney, gave a statement to the Miami Herald on Monday night, saying his client had experienced a “severe mental health emergency.”

“It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement officials and acknowledge the seriousness of the allegations,” he said.

“We are also committed to working with healthcare professionals to ensure Mr. Brafman receives the appropriate and necessary treatment.”

What People Are Saying

Assal Rad, author of the book State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran, wrote in a post on X: “If a Muslim shot two people in Miami because he thought they were Israelis it would be called terrorism and there would be wall-to-wall media coverage.”

Mehdi Hasan, the CEO of Zeteo News, wrote in a post on X: “If this was a Palestinian man who had seen & shot at 2 men who he thought were Israelis or Jews on the streets of Miami it would be the biggest news story in the US. Politicians & pundits would be falling over themselves to comment & condemn. But Palestinian lives don’t matter.”

@Kahlissee, an user on X who has more than 336,000 followers and describes themself as offering alternative news and media, wrote in a post: “This is the result of Anti Palestinian hate and indoctrination that runs deep in Pro Israel communities in Trumps America.”

What’s Next

According to information on the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation website, Brafman’s bond has not yet been set and the identities of the victims are also yet to be confirmed.