By Talia Mullin / Original to ScheerPost
A Florida man, Mordechai Brafman, was arrested on Feb. 15, in Miami after shooting and injuring two people in their vehicle, having mistaken them for Palestinians. Though his intent was to harm what he thought were Palestinians, Brafman — who is Jewish himself — ended up harming a father and son who happen to be visitors from Israel.
According to a police report, Brafman told officers, “While I was driving my truck, I saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.” Brafman, 27, fired 17 shots at the vehicle though neither victim was killed. The father suffered a grazed forearm while the son was hit in the shoulder.
Brafman is facing two counts of attempted second-degree murder, and the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has pushed for federal hate crime charges to be included as well.
“We urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to bring hate crime charges in this case based on the alleged perpetrator’s statements to police that reportedly indicate an anti-Palestinian motive,” CAIR’S Florida communications director Wilfredo Amr Ruiz said.
Considering the increase of anti-Arab hate crimes in the U.S., Ruiz believes that Brafman’s “bias-motivated actions” should be the deciding factor in this “disturbing” case, despite the victims not being his aspired target.
After the incident, the son, Ari Rabey, took to Facebook to share his thoughts about the event adding “Death to the Arabs” to the end of his post where he said the crime was an act of antisemitism.
However, after discovering the Jewish identity of the shooter, Rabey deleted his post and shared a different message saying “They tried to kill us for nationalistic reasons.”
Mr. Brafman’s lawyer, Dustin Tischler, told The New York Times in a text message that, “At the time of the incident, Mr. Brafman was experiencing a severe mental health crisis which caused him to be in fear for his life. It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised.”
Tischler noted that Brafman had “no prior history of violent or hateful behavior” and that they are “committed to working with medical professionals to ensure Mr. Brafman receives appropriate and necessary treatment.”
X users have shared their perspectives on the issue, many citing the lack of attention from lawmakers on the matter.
In December 2023, Brafman was interviewed by local television news after a bagel shop was the target of three separate vandalism crimes. The first two incidents involved a slashing and removal of pro-Israel banners and the third was the removal of an American flag. The three incidents were committed by three different individuals.
Brafman said, “It’s absolutely abhorrent to see this kind of vandalism, for not only showing pride for Israel, but pride for the United States.”
Brafman ended his 2023 interview stating: “I’d love to see some unity, and people coming together and fighting less and being together more.”
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