NEW YORK — A 28-year-old dual U.S.-German citizen has been charged with attempting to firebomb the U.S. Embassy’s branch office in Tel Aviv, federal prosecutors announced Sunday. The suspect, Joseph Neumeyer, was apprehended in Israel shortly after the failed attack and deported to the United States.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed in the Eastern District of New York, Neumeyer approached the U.S. Embassy compound in Tel Aviv on May 19, carrying a backpack filled with Molotov cocktails. Security footage and eyewitness accounts indicate that he got into a confrontation with a guard at the entrance before fleeing the scene. As the guard attempted to detain him, Neumeyer dropped his backpack and ran off.
Law enforcement quickly located him at a nearby hotel just blocks from the embassy, where he was taken into custody by Israeli authorities. He was deported to New York on Saturday and appeared before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Sunday, the same day the charges were made public.
Prosecutors allege that Neumeyer, who was born in Colorado, made a series of threatening social media posts prior to the incident. According to court records, he left the United States for Canada in early February and arrived in Israel in late April, weeks before the attempted attack.
Officials have not disclosed a specific motive, but the incident occurred amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, now in its 19th month, a conflict that has fueled global political tensions and raised security concerns at diplomatic posts worldwide.
Neumeyer’s court-appointed attorney, Jeff Dahlberg, declined to comment on the case.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the U.S. formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocated its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—a controversial decision that remains a flashpoint in U.S.-Middle East relations. However, the Tel Aviv office still operates as a branch of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Israel.
The charges against Neumeyer underscore the heightened security threats facing U.S. embassies abroad amid ongoing geopolitical instability. He is expected to remain in custody pending further court proceedings.
