Dual U.S.–German Citizen Charged With Attempted Firebombing of U.S. Embassy Branch in Tel Aviv
A 28-year-old dual citizen of the United States and Germany has been charged with attempting to fire-bomb a branch office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Al Jazeera reports.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Neumeyer, originally from Colorado, approached the embassy compound on May 19 carrying a backpack filled with Molotov cocktails. Embassy security confronted him, and he fled, dropping the bag as a guard tried to detain him.
Israeli police apprehended Neumeyer at a nearby hotel later that day. After Israeli authorities deported him, he arrived at New York’s Kennedy Airport on Saturday and made his initial court appearance Sunday before a federal magistrate in Brooklyn.
“This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans and the president of the United States,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “The Department will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”
Prosecutors allege Neumeyer left the U.S. for Canada in early February and arrived in Israel in late April. Court filings state he posted a series of threats on social media in the weeks before the incident.
If convicted of attempting to damage U.S. property with fire or explosives, Neumeyer faces up to 20 years in prison. He remains in federal custody; a detention hearing is scheduled for later this week.
The alleged attack comes amid heightened regional tensions as Israel’s war in Gaza enters its nineteenth month. Nearly 54,000 Palestinians have been reported killed, and international aid agencies warn of looming famine in the enclave.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the United States officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocated its embassy there from Tel Aviv—moves widely rejected by the international community and still a flashpoint in U.S.-Middle East relations.
