‘Hate crime': Muslim groups call for probe into Miami Beach shooting targeting ‘Palestinians'

Miami Herald

19-02-2025

After two men targeted as 'Palestinians' were shot on Miami Beach, national and local Muslim organizations are calling on political leaders to condemn the attack and prosecute it as a hate crime.
They point to the weekend incident as the latest example in a surge of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents, including in South Florida.
'There is no place for hate in this community, and we definitely are looking for some kind of investigation from the federal, state and local law enforcement to consider this a hate crime. It is a hate crime,' said Shabbir Motorwala, who is a founding member of the Coalition Of South Florida Muslim Organizations or COSMOS.
'It is not an isolated incident, because our children in the schools are being called Hamas,' Motorwala told the Miami Herald on Wednesday.
Miami Beach police say Mordechai Brafman fired seventeen shots at a vehicle with two men inside, striking one man in the shoulder and grazing the other. He later told police, unprompted, that he saw 'two Palestinians and shot and killed both,' according to his arrest form.
But in an ironic twist, the men Brafman mistook for Palestinians were actually Israelis. The victims, Ari Rabey and his father, were vacationing in Miami Beach at the time of the shooting. Both suffered minor wounds but survived. Brafman, 27, is now being held without bond on two counts of attempted second degree murder at Miami-Dade Corrections Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The day after the Saturday night attack, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a national Muslim civil rights organization, also called for the charges to be classified as a hate crime — which would escalate the penalties.
'This just the latest example of the hate targeting the Palestinian-American community in this country and Palestinians in their homeland,' said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
READ MORE: Why were 2 people shot in Miami Beach? The suspect said he 'saw 2 Palestinians,' cops say
Miami-Dade prosecutors are currently reviewing the case, according to an email from State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle's office, to see if it meets the requirements for a hate crime, which would trigger a penalty enhancement on the charges.
Aside from the hate crime designation — which may not come until mid-March when Brafman's arraignment is — some Muslim advocacy groups are looking for public statements from elected officials. They say they want the incident to be condemned by leaders and to hear support for protecting the safety of Arab Americans.
'They owe an explanation for the silence all these days after the incident,' Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, CAIR-Florida's communications director, told the Miami Herald, referring to local elected officials. 'Don't you think a pronouncement in this case is important after someone shot 17 shots on the streets of Miami Beach?'
Samir Kakli, president of the South Florida Muslim Federation, an umbrella organization that represents dozens of the region's mosques, Islamic schools and community organizations, echoed the same sentiments.
'Anti-Arab hatred hurts, even hurts non-Arabs,' said Kakli. 'City and county officials must publicly condemn this act of hate and reaffirm their commitment to combating all forms of bigotry including Islamophobia.'
Arab community 'suffering already'
Dustin Tischler, Brafman's attorney, said in a statement to the Herald on Monday night that his client 'was experiencing a severe mental health emergency' when he opened fire. But the shooting has still rattled the Arab-American community, according to CAIR.
Palestinians and Muslims in Florida have reached out, asking the organization if it's safe to be in Miami Beach — to shop at the bakeries they frequent, for example.
'Families are calling us afraid, legitimately afraid,' said Ruiz. 'The terror that this dude wanted to inspire just by randomly killing people thinking they're Arabs, it landed. It landed strong… We're suffering already.'
The shooting reflects a larger increase in anti-Muslim hate, according to CAIR. From January to June 2024, CAIR documented 4,951 bias complaints nationwide, a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2023.
In 2024, CAIR received the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history.
Today, CAIR released a petition and letter urging the FBI to conduct an investigation into the incident. Ruiz said there are still questions about the suspect's affiliations to larger extremist groups.
'Tens of thousands of Palestinian and Arab families across Florida are deeply alarmed by this attack,' the letter reads. 'They do not know whether Brafman acted alone, whether and why he may have been radicalized, or if he was affiliated to any extremist nationalist or Zionist groups operating in Miami Beach, elsewhere in Florida or even abroad.'
The letter also points out that Palestinian and Arab families in Florida come from a diverse community, representing Muslim and Christian denominations.
Ruiz of CAIR called out Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava specifically by name, and said he was disappointed in their silence on the issue.
'I still don't hear the words 'extremism'. I don't hear the words 'potential terrorism'. I don't hear the words 'radicalization'. I don't hear the words 'safety and security of Arabs'. I don't hear the words 'safety and security of Palestinians',' he said.
The Miami-Dade County and Miami Beach Mayor's offices did not respond to the Herald's requests for comments on this story.
Ruiz noted South Florida's strong support for the Israeli and Jewish community, especially in Miami Beach, where leaders have given financial support to the state of Israel. Many public officials have spoken out against the rise in antisemitism after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October of 2023, but are less vocal about the rise in Islamophobia.
'A hate crime, when it targets Arabs and Palestinians, is treated very different when hate crimes are targeting Jews or Christians,' Ruiz said.
So far, Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez is the only public official to speak out publicly against the shooting incident, urging the State Attorney's Office to escalate the charges to a hate crime.
'I strongly condemn any act of violence, especially one driven by bias. No one — regardless of whether they are perceived to be Palestinian or of any other background — should ever feel unsafe in our community,' Fernandez wrote in the post.
After Brafman's attorney issued a statement citing mental health issues, Fernandez later updated the post to add a statement about the 'possibility that mental health considerations may be a factor.'
Tischler wrote that '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. 'We are also committed to working with healthcare professionals to ensure Mr. Brafman receives the appropriate and necessary treatment. Finally, we are deeply relieved that the victims are safe.'
This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.