Jewish Israelis mistaken for Palestinians brutally shot in Florida

A man in Florida fired at least 17 rounds at two individuals on the night of February 15th after stopping his car, to shoot at them, believing they were Palestinian.

The victims, which are indicated to be Jewish Israelis based on initial reports, had to go to hospital for their wounds, according to The New Arab. The victims were visiting the US from Israel.

The suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged with attempted murder. Police records indicate that he told officers “he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.” Although the victims and the alleged shooter did not know each other.

The attack appeared unprovoked, and law enforcement has not confirmed the victims’ identities.

However, The Miami Herald reported that an Instagram account that creates posts about Jewish life, “South_Florida_Simchas,” shared a picture of one of the victims and claimed they were an Israeli father and son, not Palestinian.

The shooting comes amid heightened tensions following Israel’s war on Gaza, with civil rights groups documenting a rise in bias-motivated incidents.

Earlier this month, Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner exchange under a ceasefire, according to Arab News via AFP. Crowds in Tel Aviv cheered when watching live footage of the hostages, together with masked gunmen by their side, however, Israel’s government was concerned about the “shocking” appearance of the hostages.

Florida allows residents to carry concealed weapons without training, a concealed licence or background checks. The state recorded a more than 50% increase in reported hate crimes between 2022 and 2023, according to the Department of Justice. But California, New York and Texas reported a slight decline in incidents of hate, within the same timescale.

The Florida chapter of CAIR is calling for federal hate crime charges for the attack, citing the suspect’s clear motive. Wilfredo Amr Ruiz said: “It is the alleged shooter’s reportedly bias-motivated actions, not the actual ethnicity of the victims, that should be the determining factor for charges in this disturbing case.”

The New Arab, AFP