Man accused of shooting at car in Miami Beach thinking occupants were Palestinians, arrest documents say

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

Updated on: February 17, 2025 / 6:21 PM EST


MIAMI — A man is facing charges following accusations that he opened fire on a vehicle in Miami Beach Saturday night after he saw two men in it who he thought were Palestinians, arrest documents said. Mordechai Brafman, 27, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder for the shooting.

Around 9:30 p.m., surveillance video captured Brafman's truck traveling south on Pine Tree Drive and making a U-turn at 48th Street, where the victims' vehicle was stopped just north of 48th in the left lane. At that point, Brafman drove by and stopped directly in front of them in the right lane, where he left his vehicle and shot at the victims' vehicle "17 times, unprovoked, striking both victims" as they passed him, arrest documents said.

In an interview with CBS News Miami on Monday, Ari Rabi, an Israeli tourist and one of the victims, said he and his father were visiting Miami Beach when someone opened fire on them. Rabi said he was shot in the left shoulder while his father was grazed by a bullet in the left forearm.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom. I got hit in the shoulder. One of the bullets missed my father's head," Rabi said through his cousin, who served as an interpreter. According to Rabi, neither he nor his father knew Brafman prior to the incident. Rabi clarified that they're not Palestinian.


Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/miami-beach-shooting-attempted-murder-palestinians/

---

Unfortunately "racial/ethnic profiling" is a thing.

[regnaD kciN]

1. As if that wasn't insane enough...

…the two victims are claiming on social media that they were victims of an “antisemitic attack” and that Brafman was Palestinian, adding “Death to Arabs.”

[ReRe]

2. Would an Arab have a name like "Mordechai"?

Sounds pretty old testament Biblical to me.

[Old Crank]

3. I do not know the origin of the man's last name.

His first name I would associate with being Jewish. Which is stereotyping. I saw no reports on his background. I want to hear more before I reach any conclusions. His actions against Palestinians doesn't prove much other than he is a racist, period. I wonder how many more people triggered by hateful rhetoric there are out there.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. "I saw no reports on his background. I want to hear more before I reach any conclusions."

From the Times of Israel -

Jewish Florida man arrested after shooting 2 Israelis he thought were Palestinians



By Zev Stub and ToI Staff 17 February 2025, 2:15 pm



A Jewish man in Miami Beach was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of attempted murder, a day after opening fire at a car in which he said he saw “two Palestinians” inside. However, police said that the victims were actually two Jewish Israelis visiting the US. The victims, Ari Rabey and his father, initially thought they were being targeted in an antisemitic attack..

Mordechai Brafman, 27, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after he shot at the car 17 times with a semiautomatic handgun on Saturday. Police said there was no altercation between Brafman and the two victims before the shooting, which they described as unprovoked, reports said. According to the arrest sheet, Brafman said that while he was driving his truck, “he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.” Neither victim was killed. One was hit in the left shoulder, while the other was grazed by a bullet.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called for Brafman to be charged with a hate crime, which would increase the severity of his offenses. Brafman, who is married, gave his occupation as plumber, reports said. A year ago he was interviewed by local media after vandalism to a bagel store on Miami Beach that had displayed an Israeli flag, Hebrew media reported. At the time Brafman called for more unity and less conflict between people.

Ari Rabey, who was hit in the shoulder, later posted to his Facebook page about the shooting. “Dear Jews,” he began and then explained that he was in Miami with his father. “They tried to kill us for nationalistic reasons,” he wrote. Rabey went on to explain that his father had been wearing a yarmulke on his head when they were driving in the car at the time of the shooting.

(snip)

[iemanja]

19. charming.

[Ray Bruns]

5. If this happened anywhere else but Florida I would be shocked.

[GiqueCee]

6. Filth like Brafman...

... infest every corner of the country. When the Gangrenous Boil on the Ass of Humanity said that he loved the poorly educated, he was referring to room-temperature IQs like Brafman. They now believe they have license to wreak havoc wherever, and on whomever, they please.
Years ago, John Conyers (R) of Texas declared that "Bill Clinton never met an education program he didn't like." It was intended as a pejorative. America is now neck-deep in in the stinking cesspool of Conyers' stupidity.

[Bengus81]

7. The violence will be like 2017-2020 only worse. Bank on it..........

[ck4829]

8. God...

[Xipe Totec]

9. As if being Palestinian were a crime. nt

[IronLionZion]

10. It was an antisemitic attack, Jew on Jew violence

because they "looked Palestinian", the idiot decided to fire 17 rounds at complete strangers.

Which may also draw attention to the similarities between Israeli Jews and Palestinians if they can be mistaken for each other.

The NRA's solution will be more guns.

Another day in Trump's America.

[wolfie001]

22. I snickered and thought of 'The Life of Brian'

I'm not proud of it either. "What have the Romans ever done for us....."

[IronLionZion]

23. What Have The Romans... - Monty Python's Life of Brian

Always look on the bright side of life

[wolfie001]

24. It was a serious incident and I'm so glad both survived

The Florida-Man aspect of this story is so mind-boggling. Nice post! I loved that movie when it came out and Jerry Fatwell and the 'moral majority' of jerkoffs spoke out against it. I think he helped the movie's sales.

[JohnnyRingo]

11. Is that a hate crime in Florida?

Is there such a thing in The Sunshine State?

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury... This has all just been a case of mistaken identity." "The defendant thought they were Ay-rabs."

[Aristus]

12. "Oops! I thought they were Palestinian! My bad!

Even in such a pestilential hellhole as Florida, that can't possibly be a viable legal defense.

[Wonder Why]

13. He'll claim "Stand Your Ground". After he stopped in front of them, he felt threatened

and so rightly fired back 17 times even though they were not armed.

Sounds reasonable to me. After all, it IS Florida!

[Evolve Dammit]

14. Waiting for the pardon.....Stand Your Ground??

[Grins]

15. On a side note, why was a plumber driving around the tourist-heavy streets armed?

Why did he think it necessary to be armed?

My guess: Not random. He was hunting. For humans.

[louis-t]

16. We will be seeing a lot more of this.

Hear someone speaking Spanish? Call ICE. See a brown family? Call ICE or start shooting.

[Martin68]

17. The irony is rich.

[Figarosmom]

18. Surprised the guy

Didn't get released saying it was self defense which is the FL standard.

[C0RI0LANUS]

20. Look at the hatred in the eyes of this woman continually macing an Arab Uber driver in NYC.

Video: https://nypost.com/2024/11/01/us-news/passenger-who-pepper-sprayed-muslim-uber-driver-fired-from-pr-job/

This heinous attack occurred before the election. Thanks to a constant Islamophobic drumbeat, Arabs and Palestinians have become the most hated group of people in at least two countries, leading to attacks like this in NYC or Miami.

Palestinians make up 0.05% of the US population. Of the entire US Arab-American population, 25% are Lebanese-Americans.

Sources:

https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-hate-crimes-indictment-of-woman-for-pepper-spraying-uber-driver-on-the-upper-east-side/

https://www.aaiusa.org/demographics

[wolfie001]

21. He shot at the car 17 times?

My gawd! I hope he serves a long sentence.

[magicarpet]

26. Three clips.... ?

[wolfie001]

27. Not a gun owner in the least

but some have "yuge" magazines.

[ck4829]

25. Kick