Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
A pro-Palestinian activist in New Jersey narrowly avoided a potentially deadly attack when authorities intercepted a plot to firebomb her home, weeks after she filed a federal lawsuit alleging harassment and threats by a far-right pro-Israel group.
Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of the advocacy group Within Our Lifetime, had filed a lawsuit on February 26 against the Betar Zionist Organization and several of its leaders under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The suit alleges months of stalking, intimidation, and racially motivated threats, including cash incentives offered to anyone who physically harmed her, and repeated confrontations at demonstrations across New York City.
Kiswani has been a vocal advocate for Palestinians in Gaza, organizing protests, university encampments, and campaigns urging institutions to divest from Israel. According to her lawsuit, members of Betar USA the group named in the complaint, offered $1,000 in January 2025 to anyone who could deliver what they called “a beeper,” a reference to a deadly Israeli military operation in Lebanon the previous year. The complaint also alleges that the group petitioned the Trump administration to revoke Kiswani’s U.S. citizenship.
Authorities arrested 22-year-old Alexander Heifler on Thursday, charging him with unlawful possession and manufacturing of destructive devices. Court documents describe an undercover NYPD officer participating in video and in-person meetings with Heifler, during which he allegedly shared the intended target address, vehicle details, and plans to evade DNA detection. Heifler allegedly intended to flee the country after the attack.
A search of Heifler’s residence yielded eight Molotov cocktails containing ethanol as an accelerant. He is reported to have affiliations with the Jewish Defense League, a right-wing organization classified by the FBI as a terrorist group. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the plot as “a chilling act of political violence,” while the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said the investigation is ongoing and that there is no current threat to the community.
In a statement on X, Kiswani said she was notified late Thursday night by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force that her life had been targeted. “For months, Zionist organizations like Betar … have encouraged violence against my family and me,” she said, adding that she “will not stop speaking up for the people of Palestine.”
Her attorneys called the attempt “an act of terrorism” and emphasized that the case highlights the dangers facing activists targeted for their political beliefs. “Those responsible for this attempted act of terrorism must be held to account,” the statement read.
The incident underscores growing political and sectarian tensions in the United States since the October 2023 Israel-Hamas war, illustrating how international conflicts can influence domestic extremism and acts of violence.
