Alexander Heifler, 26, was arrested over an alleged plot to firebomb the home of Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani. Heifler was reportedly a member of the extremist group the “JDL 613 Brotherhood” and planned to flee to Israel after the attack.
By Michael Arria and Adam Horowitz, Reposted from Mondoweiss, March 27, 2026
A 26-year-old New Jersey man has been arrested over an alleged plot to firebomb the home of Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani.
The AP reports the federal authorities detained Alexander Heifler while he was assembling Molotov cocktails to throw at Kiswani’s New York City home. He had apparently detailed his plan to an undercover NYPD detective, who had permeated a group chat that included Heifler. He planned to flee the country to Israel after carrying out the attack.
After executing a search warrant, officers uncovered eight Molotov cocktails from his Hoboken residence.
The criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court outlined the plot to attack Kiswani is available to view or download:
26-MJ-15052-complaint-and-affidavit-signed
“This NYPD investigation uncovered an alleged plot by Alexander Heifler to carry out a violent attack against Nerdeen Kiswani,” said NYPD Police Commissoner Jessica Tisch in a statement. “Our undercover officer identified and tracked the threat — first online and then in person — allowing us to disrupt the planned attack, take Heifler into custody, and ensure that no one was harmed.”
The AP reports Heifler was a member of the “JDL 613 Brotherhood” a New Jersey-based organization modeled after the Jewish Defense League, a far-right pro-Israel group founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane and considered a terrorist organization by the FBI. The JDL 613 Brotherhood was founded in 2024 and says it was inspired by Kahane’s “teachings of ‘Never Again’ and ‘Every Jew a .22,’” to train Jews in self-defense and firearms use.
A recent Substack post by the the group’s leader just days before Heifler’s arrest called on Jews to “be ready to defend ourselves and our people ‘by any means necessary.’” The organization also says it collaborates with other far-right organizations like Betar USA and Herut NY.
The group had previously threatened Kiswani and her family over social media:
For years, Kiswani has been targeted by pro-Israel groups over her Palestine advocacy. Last month, she launched a lawsuit against Betar U.S., the American branch of a far-right, Zionist organization founded by settler Ze’ev Jabotinsky in 1923 over its “sustained campaign of stalking, harassment, intimidation, and civil rights violations directed at me and other activists.”
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. For months, Zionist organizations like Betar and politicians like Randy Fine have…
— Nerdeen Kiswani (@NerdeenKiswani) March 27, 2026
In a series of tweets in response to the plot, Kiswani referenced attacks from groups like Betar USA, and pro-Israel politicians like Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), who has singled Kiswani out for abuse on social media.
Betar USA denied any connection to the plot, but used the news to continue their targeting of Kiswani and Palestine activists.
“We of course know nothing about this threat and have had zero contact with law enforcement on this issue,” tweeted the group. “We support the Federal governments continued pursuit of jihad. That said, Palestinians are a violent people. The long TSA lines are a direct result of violent Palestinians like Nerdeen Kiswani. Would not be shocking at all if these acts are linked to violent Palestinian terrorists who continue their civil wars all over the world.”
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), the anti-Zionist activist organization that Kiswani founded in 2015, has also been targeted by pro-Israel groups and consistently censored by social media companies.
In February 2024, Meta shut down the group’s Instagram, claiming that it had violated the site’s guidelines by supporting “dangerous organizations or individuals.”
“So since Meta’s tactics to silence [WOL] by shutting down its IG account didn’t work, now there’s an assassination plot against its founder Nerdeen Kiswani,” tweeted attorney and former Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) director Sarah Leah Whitson. “Some folks will go to any length to suffocate Palestinian demands for freedom…”
According to the complaint, Heifler is scheduled to make an appearance in New Jersey federal court today.
Michael Arria is Mondoweiss’ U.S. correspondents. His work has appeared in In These Times, The Appeal, and Truthout. He is the author of Medium Blue: The Politics of MSNBC. Follow him on x at @michaelarria. Adam Horowitz is Mondoweiss’ Managing Editor.
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