American-German national arrested at JFK airport for planning to bomb US Embassy Office in Tel Aviv

NBC reported on Sunday that Joseph Neumayer, a dual citizen of the United States and Germany, was arrested at JFK International Airport after allegedly attempting to bomb the U.S. Embassy Office in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 19. On the day of the attack, Neumayer posted an anti-American and anti-Western message online.

"Join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America, death to Americans, and f--- the west,” Neumayer wrote. He reportedly left a backpack containing three Molotov cocktails outside the U.S. diplomatic mission close to the Tel Aviv seafront. Israeli authorities later arrested him in his Tel Aviv hotel room and deported him from the country. He was eventually rearrested upon his return to the United States on Sunday. If convicted, Neumayer could potentially face 20 years in a U.S. prison. 

Furthermore, Neumayer reportedly also planned to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump. 

US Attorney-General Pam Bondi responded by emphasizing that her office would not "tolerate violence in our homeland or violence targeting US interests abroad."

“This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans, and President Trump’s life,” Bondi said in an official statement. “The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law."

FBI Director Kash Patel condemned Neumayer’s "despicable and violent behavior," vowing that this conduct would not be accepted "at home or abroad."

Israeli authorities have so far refrained from commenting in public on the NBC report. 

In December 2017, Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the de facto capital of the State of Israel. In May 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Israel officially moved its headquarters from Tel Aviv to its current location in Jerusalem. However, Washington has simultaneously retained its embassy office in Tel Aviv. 

Israeli security tends to be tight around sensitive sites such as the U.S. diplomatic mission. It is therefore currently unclear how the perpetrator succeeded in placing the backpack with the Molotov cocktails outside the U.S. diplomatic mission, which is located close to Tel Aviv’s popular beachfront. 

In July 2024, one person was killed and eight were injured when the Iranian-backed Yemen-based Houthi terrorist militia launched a drone attack against Tel Aviv. The suicide drone somehow evaded Israel’s advanced aerial defenses and exploded into a residential apartment building close to the U.S. embassy. 

Meanwhile, threats against Israeli embassies and diplomatic missions worldwide have increased dramatically since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023. 

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attended on Monday a memorial service honoring the murdered Israeli Embassy staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. The couple, who were about to get engaged, were murdered outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar thanked Noem for showing solidarity with the Jewish state. 

“I want to thank Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for her important visit to Israel,” Sa’ar stated.

“This visit – after the horrific murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim in Washington – shows solidarity and demonstrates the close relations between our people,” the foreign minister continued. “Our hearts break for this loss of young, promising lives."