The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on New Jersey officials ranging from the local level to Congress, to rein in the unchecked, Anti-Muslim rhetoric that led to the alleged plot against Nerdeen Kiswani’s life.
Federal agents executed a search warrant near Willow Avenue and Clinton Street, where Alexander Heifler, 26, was taken into custody. Heifler’s target was Nerdeen Kiswani, an advocate for Palestinian liberation and the co-founder of Within Our Lifetime. This plot could have taken Nerdeen’s life, her husband’s and child’s, and the lives of other New Yorkers.
For weeks, Heifler had discussed the plot to throw Molotov cocktails into Kiswani’s home with an undercover NYPD officer who had infiltrated a group chat used by Heifler, according to a police department spokesperson. Heifler was a member of an offshoot of the Jewish Defense League, designated by the FBI as a “known violent extremist organization.”
CAIR-NJ is thankful that the NYPD and FBI thwarted this plan, which led to the arrest of Hoboken resident, alleged would-be assassin and pro-Israel extremist Alexander Heifler, but calls on local Hoboken officials, state officials, and new Jersey members of Congress to address the hateful ideology that allegedly motivated Heifler, and condemn anti-Muslim rhetoric spouted by officials across the country.
In an online statement, Nerdeen Kiswani said:
“For months, Zionist organizations like Betar and politicians like Randy Fine have encouraged violence against my family and me.”
SEE: Kiswani’s X post
Congressman Fine, known for some of the most vitriolic and hateful speech in Congress against Muslims and Palestinians, previously identified Kiswani online to his supporters.
SEE: Rep. Fine’s X post
In a statement, CAIR-NJ Operations Director Dyaa Terpstra said:
“There has been wide coverage in the last few days of this planned assassination and Heifler’s arrest, but it has largely been missing one of the most important parts. Hate does not spawn spontaneously in a vacuum. The articles have been missing what Kiswani herself pointed out. This is a result of officials not being held to account, and officials not holding extremist organizations and individuals to account.”
“Attacking and scapegoating Muslims for nonexistent Sharia law courts is all the craze lately. Nonsensical, Islamophobic initiatives like the ‘Sharia-Free America’ Congressional Caucus are part of a concerted effort by pro-Israel extremists to distract attention from themselves, the Israeli lobby’s crumbling grip on Congress, and Israeli genocide. When our local leaders stop at welcoming this arrest and do not address where Heifler’s extremist ideology came from, including Hoboken Mayor Emily Jabbour, Muslims continue to be gravely endangered. Officials at all levels of government must condemn the bigoted, Anti-Muslim rhetoric that allowed hate to fester.”
CAIR-NJ calls on local leaders in Hoboken to take a substantive stance against the root motivation of Heifler’s alleged plan, and to publicly condemn it and the Jewish Defense League. CAIR-NJ also calls on New Jersey members of Congress to reject the ‘Sharia-Free America’ caucus and publicly make the connection that such initiatives lead to hateful actions like Heifler’s alleged plot.
According to CAIR’s most recent civil rights report, complaints of anti-Muslim bias and discrimination have continued to rise nationwide, reflecting an ongoing pattern of Islamophobia impacting communities across the country.
SEE: 2026 Civil Rights Report: The Right to be Different
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims
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Contact: CAIR-NJ Operations Director Dyaa Terpstra, dterpstra@cair.com