Florida Jew opens fire, injures 2 Israeli tourists mistaken for Palestinians
www.ynetnews.com
Footage shows Mordechai Brafman, 27, stopping his car in Miami Beach and firing toward two men attempting to flee; suspect tells police he 'killed two Palestinians'

Florida police arrested a 27-year-old Jewish man, Mordechai Brafman, on suspicion of attempting to murder two men he believed were Palestinian. The victims were an Israeli father and son visiting from Israel.

According to investigators, Brafman overtook their car in Miami Beach, made a U-turn, exited his vehicle and fired 17 shots at them. Local authorities said Brafman didn’t know the victims and there was no prior confrontation between the sides.

Brafman drove home after the shooting and was arrested shortly after. He is charged with attempted murder. While police have not officially determined a motive, they said: “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. The victims and the defendant do not know each other,” Police added that he told investigators he had killed them.

Brafman, a married plumber, was interviewed last year by Florida media after vandals targeted a Miami Beach bagel shop displaying an Israeli flag. “It’s just horrifying,” he said at the time. “I’d like to see more unity, for people to fight less with each other and be more together.”

  • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
    0·
    3 days ago

    This is the key part that makes it The Onion material:

    From, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/17/miami-shooting-israeli-men:

    …one of the injured men reportedly posted “death to the Arabs” in a message on social media after the shooting. “My father and I went through a murder attempt against antisemitic background,” he wrote.

    Jewish man shoots at Israelis because he thought that they were Palestinians. Israeli victims claimed that they were victims of an “antisemitic” attack and post “death to the Arabs”.

    The deeper irony is that these men were the victims of an antisemitic attack. They were targeted because they were thought to be Palestinians who are also a Semitic people and yet they seem to share the same prejudice as their attacker.