New York Man Charged in Alleged Firebomb Plot Targeting Palestinian Activist

Federal authorities arrested Alexander Heifler at his Hoboken, New Jersey home on Thursday as he was assembling Molotov cocktails he planned to throw at the Brooklyn residence of Palestinian-American activist Nerdeen Kiswani. The arrest was not a routine patrol stop. Heifler, 26, was taken into custody following a weeks-long undercover operation led by the New York City Police Department, after a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey revealed the investigation had begun in early February, when he discussed using Molotov cocktails on a group video call that included an undercover law enforcement officer.

When the undercover detective met Heifler at his residence Thursday, Heifler had assembled components including a large bottle of Everclear, a highly flammable alcohol. Officers then executed a search warrant and recovered eight Molotov cocktails. He had told the undercover officer he planned to flee the country following the attack. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed in a Friday statement that the country Heifler planned to flee to was Israel.

Heifler was charged in a criminal complaint with separate counts of making and possessing destructive devices, each carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He made an initial appearance in New Jersey federal court Friday afternoon.

Mayor Mamdani said Heifler was an alleged member of the Jewish Defense League, a far-right pro-Israel group that the FBI has labeled a terrorist organization since 2001. "Last night, an alleged member of the Jewish Defense League — designated by the FBI as a 'known violent extremist organization' — attempted to blow up the home of Nerdeen Kiswani in a chilling act of political violence and an apparent assassination plot," his statement read. An official briefed on the investigation identified Heifler as a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, a New Jersey-based group founded in 2024 that describes its membership as "Jewish warriors" fighting back against rising antisemitism.

Kiswani lives in Brooklyn with her infant son and husband. The 31-year-old co-founded the activist group Within Our Lifetime and has organized large-scale protests across New York City. In a social media post, she said: "Late last night, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force informed me that a plot against my life that was 'about to' take place, and that agents had conducted an operation in Hoboken related to this plot." Kiswani said the plot would not deter her: "I feel very blessed that they were able to thwart this, but it's something that is a constant possibility for people who speak up on behalf of Palestine."

The arrest came against a backdrop of escalating harassment targeting Kiswani that had already reached federal court. Last month she sued Betar USA, a far-right militant pro-Israel group, accusing it of violating her civil rights by putting out social media "bounties" on her and repeatedly harassing her. Betar USA had agreed in January to dissolve its New York operations following a settlement with the state attorney general. The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James had found that Betar USA engaged in a "campaign of violence, harassment, and intimidation against Arab, Muslim, and Jewish New Yorkers."

Kiswani stated: "For months, Zionist organizations like Betar and politicians like Randy Fine have encouraged violence against my family and me." Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, sparked backlash after writing in a social media post that "the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one." Fine had reposted a tweet of Kiswani's to make those disparaging remarks, which sparked calls for his censure.

Mayor Mamdani's statement noted that the arrest "comes amidst an alarming rise in threats and violence across the country targeting Palestinian human rights advocates." CAIR, a Muslim civil rights group, praised the law enforcement response and called for a full investigation, writing that the case "underscores the growing climate of harassment, threats, and violence directed at those speaking out on Palestinian human rights and other social justice issues." The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, while condemning the plot in the strongest terms, added that it "adamantly disagrees with Nerdeen Kiswani's inflammatory rhetoric and her organization's tactics."

According to the criminal complaint, Heifler discussed vandalizing Kiswani's home and using Molotov cocktails against her; he told an officer he had an "escape plan" to leave the country by the end of April and wanted to carry out the attack shortly beforehand, saying "No IDs, no phones… in and out." That text-message language, captured by investigators months before the arrest date, now forms the core of the federal case.